Page 10A
Bird's EyeView
Wednesday, September 11, 1996
A P
Diercing Profile
Reporter Ashlee Roll tells the story of the dumbest thing she's ever done.
Amanda Brown, sophomore, gets her tongue pierced by Barbra Evans, piercologist at HTC Body Adornment Studio, 12 E. 8th St. Brown's piercing used a 14-gauge barbell.
I've always considered myself reason-
I weve considered myself able. I have never bungee jumped or even honked for hemp. But in the past few years I have found myself participating in the art of body piercing.
it started simply enough. Tattooing became the fashion du jour, and I had a tattoo on my ankle and one on my hip by the end of my sophomore year at the University. When my mother found out, she said, "What's next? Body piercing?"
I decided to wait to tell her about the navel ring I had just gotten.
justgrown.
When she calmed down about the tattoos, I told her about the belly ring in the best way I knew how. I did it at Christmas, while we were decorating the tree. I hooked an ornament through my navel ring and ran around the room. After she regained consciousness, she wasn't that mad.
Out of all the things I've done to myself, like the weird haircuts and wacky outfits that I wore in high school, I've never done anything I considered really dumb — until now.
I got my tongue pierced last week
I go my best pierced one.
When I had my navel pierced two years ago at Grimm's Tattoo Studio, 3825 Main St. in Kansas City, Mo, the man's name who pierced me was Teun, pronounced turn, and he was covered with tattoos and piercings.
This was my first piercing experience other than my ears, so I was nervous. I entered the studio and went behind a curtain.
behind a curtain.
I assessed my surroundings, finding several hooks, needles and an old barber's chair. Although the place was clean and professional looking, my imagination took control, conjuring images of the Joker's surgerv
scene from Batman. Teun marked my bellybutton with a felt-tip pen to see if I liked where the ring was going to be.
Before he began the procedure, he explained what he was going to do, although at the time I wished he would just go ahead and get through it.
would just go back to the chair.
I lay in the chair, and he stuck a needle, which looked like a mini harpoon, except it was hollow, through the skin above my navel.
As the needle went through my skin, a hoop-shaped piece of jewelry that would eventually pierce my navel
was placed in the hollow needle. The process is similar to sewing. The hoops come in different sizes ranging from small to "Oh my God!"
When the hoop was through my skin, a ball was snapped between the ends of the metal hoop.
At the time, the navel piercing didn't hurt , but 20 minutes later I bent down to pick something up, and I felt a dart of heat shooting up from my bellybutton.
The worst thing about navel piercing is the amount of time it takes to heal, sometimes up to a year. The tongue only takes a month.
After a piercing has healed is the time when it becomes enjoyable to have, said "K.C." Chris Whittaker, a tattoo artist and body piercer at Skim Illustrations, 740 S. Massachusetts St. Whittaker is the body piercer who pierced my tongue.
When I entered Skin Illustrations, I had no intention of having anything pierced. I was there with a friend who was getting a tattoo. But as I talked to the employees and asked questions about the procedure, I decided "What the hell?"
decided, what the real
First I had to rinse with Listerine for five minutes, to kill the germs in my mouth. This kind of numbs the tongue, but not nearly enough.
Then I stuck my tongue out, and Whittaker dried it with paper towels, which made it feel four times its normal size.
Whittaker used a felt tip pen to draw a long, vertical mark down the center of my tongue and three or four horizontal marks in the middle of it.
I chose the mark farthest back, which is the most painful place because the needle has more tongue to pierce. But placed farther back, it would be harder for my mother to see.
Barba Evans, piercologist at HTC Body Adornment Studio prepares the tools she uses to pierce a client's tongue.
Photos by Chris Hamilton
My tongue was placed in a clamp, with a hole in the middle of it. This is supposed to be the most uncomfortable part, but I kind of liked it. The hollow harpoon-shaped needle was lubricated with a Vaseline-like substance.
"If lubrication isn't used, it's going to hurt a lot more, and the jewelry isn't going to stay on the needle," Whittaker said.
As the needle went through the top of my tongue, I felt a painful pop on the top that I can only assume was a taste bud or two being lost forever. When the needle exited the bottom of my tongue, it didn't hurt, but I could taste metal.
After the needle was pushed through my tongue, it was put into a piece of cork, which held it in place while Whittaker got the barbell-shaped jewelry. The bottom ball was removed, and the stud was then put on top of the needle and pulled through my tongue.
The bottom ball was screwed back onto
The botton bad was right the stud, keeping everything in place. During the entire process, I drooled on myself. It was worse than any dentist appointment I've ever had.
When I asked people who have had their tongues pierced, "Did it hurt?" everyone answered no. You know what? They all lied.
It hurt. it hurt really bad. But I think that everyone lied just so I'd be a sucker and have it done. So when people ask me, "Did it hurt?" I'm going to say no, not a bit.
I hope I'll get used to it eventually, but at this point I can't eat solid foods, and I have to rinse with Listerine after I eat or drink. I've never had such kissable, sweet breath in my life — not that I can kiss anyone.
Whitaker explained that I needed to give my freshly pierced tongue special care. For four weeks, a piercee cann't kiss or perform oral sex, he said. And a piercee can only eat soft foods for the first three to five days.
Following are some things that I have learned from my experiences.
Before you have anything pierced, do some investigating.
Visit and look around many shops. Find a place where you feel comfortable.
■ Ask questions. Ask as many as you can think of, no matter how stupid you think they are. Chances are the piercer has heard them before. This will help you to disbelieve myths.
Find out what to expect from the procedure. It is easier to deal with the aftermath if you are prepared.
Follow directions carefully. Taking care of your piercing now will ensure enjoyment in the long run.
Critical Volume
Music reviews by Robert Moczydlowsky
The band Descendents were a big part of the '80s punk culture. They're shown here as they are pictured inside their newest album Everything Sux, their first in nearly seven years.
rmoczudk@falcon.cc.ukans.edu.
When the Descendents played a sold out, all ages show last Saturday at the Daily Grind in Kansas City, two things became clear.
One: Kansas City has a large and devout punk community; even if it is one mostly of 16 and 17 year olds who paid close attention to the records their older siblings listened to while growing up.
Two: The Descendents still can play more great songs in less time than just about anybody.
And with the release of their first album in nearly seven years, the Descendants, who were an important part of the revered punk culture in early 80's Los Angeles, are set to prove that time apart doesn't necessarily mean you can't pick up right where you left off.
"Punk music is what we do, man," said drummer Bill Stevenson, between gulps of a double mocha before Saturday's show. "All we need is each other, the desire to make music together, and of course, a couple of pots of coffee. We got'a catch that buzz so we can shred. Ask Milo — he's the one who got us hooked on coffee."
looked on coffee
Milo Ackerman may very well be
"I have always kept in close contact with Bill and the guys, and I decided that it was about time that we got together and began to make music again." Aukerman said. "I went out to the studio, and we started writing songs. It was really a song explosion. We probably only used half the songs we wrote on the record. I can't tell you how much fun it is to be back in this band."
the reason for the band's caffeine craze, but that's really the least of his contributions to the Descendents' music. Aukerman happens to be the horn-rimmed glasses-wearing singer whose caricature graces the cover of every Descendents album, including the forthcoming Everything Sux.
Aukerman's desire to attend college and his eventual biology research position at the University of Wisconsin at Madison caused the band to go on hiatus after their now classic Milo Goes To College record.
In the meantime, Stevenson and guitarist Stephen Egerton relocated to Fort Collins, Colo., and recruited singer Chad Price to form their second punk outfit, ALL. Four albums and two record companies later,
"What we do with Chad in All is just like what we do with Milo in Descendents," Stevenson said. "At our last show, Milo sang (ALL hit song) She's My Ex, and we've done old Descendents songs when we've toured with ALL. And Chad sings all the backup vocals on the new record. It's like having one engine with two carburetors."
Stevenson and Egerton find themselves in not one, but two of the most influential and popular punk bands around.
So is there any chance that ALL and the Descendents might tour together? Don't get your hopes up, Stevenson said.
"That wouldn't really work," he said. "For one thing, we'd have two shows to do, and if you've ever seen us live, you know that we can barely
The Descendents' latest album.
Nowthat'spunkrock
Records label, is due in stores Sept. 24. It features fifteen original tracks, including the ultra-catchy first single I'm the One. There also is a secret instrumental track that closes out the record. All 16 songs add up to exactly 31 minutes, averaging just under a whopping two minutes per song.
walk after one show. Plus, a tour like that would take away from what each band has to offer on its own."
The Descendents Everything Sux (Epitaph Records). Overall, out of ten: 7
Pearl Jam No Code (Epic Records). For a band in the rare position of selling millions of copies of every record they release — regardless of quality — Pearl Jam sure does a lot of experimenting. On their latest release, No Code, the
Everything Sus, which will be released on former Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz's Epitaph
band has abandoned the large guitar sonics that were so critical to Ten and Vs. and were heard on the more radio-friendly tracks from Vitology. In their place, Pearl Jam has inserted a much looser, live-in-the studio sound that is a lot closer to the band's live performance sound than most people may think. If Eddie Vedder's voice sounds a little haggard on a couple of tracks, that's because it is. There are no studio tricks or thick overdubs at work on this record.
Unfortunately, a lot of people bought No Code looking to hear Even Flow or Dissident-style guitar riffs, and they have been disappointed.
But if you buy this record to listen to the subtle influences of the various side-project bands that each Pearl Jam member has been in—not to mention the effects of making an album with Nell Young—you ought to be rewarded.
Try listening to this album on random in your 5-disc changer with Neil Young's Harvest Moon; Fugazil's 13 Songs; Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's Dold Vu; and the Jimi Hendrix Experience's Axis: Bold as Love.
Overall, including the bonus points from lack of Lazer overplay:8
NOTE: Submissions should be sent to Critical Volume, care of the Kansan, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. All local submissions will be reviewed.