Radiograffiti

This info is a little late-coming for some, but for those of us who don’t constantly carry the information-superhighway in our front pocket next to our dick it’s as good a time as any. (…not that there’s anything wrong with that)

Here’s a small collection of text and video of that particular weekend in Detroit. First is the important info for those who attended (PLEASE READ!!!!) and then some other fun nonsense to follow afterward.

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http://schizophrenia.c8.com

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
ANYONE GIVEN CITATIONS SHOULD NOT PAY THEM OR SIGN ANYTHING UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. READ BELOW FOR MORE INFORMATION:

September 9, 2009

As many of you are aware, the Detroit Police Department Vice Squad organized a lengthy and expensive undercover operation to shut down our music event, Schizophrenia 4, that took place on Saturday September 5, rather than simply contacting me in advance to inquire about permits, etc. We had no drugs, were selling no alcohol, and at 11 PM, had hardly had time to enjoy the show before the Vice and their SWAT-augmented thugs raided the venue. They handcuffed many of us, some of whom were beaten (myself included – no embellishment necessary, our photos and ER and orthopedic specialist documents speak for themselves) while restrained, including women who were present. They also stole our door money which was to be used for covering bare minimum expenses – even in a really good turnout, we wouldn’t have turned a profit. They never read us rights, they never informed us that we were under arrest, yet they refused to allow us to leave, and detained us for two hours without allowing us to ask questions about our situation, and without allowing us to speak to representation.

We’re assuming that the officer who organized this wasteful and pointless police operation is reading this, so I’ll not hold back in mentioning what needs to be said to him, since he hasn’t bothered to contact me or speak frankly (EXCEPT when he was releasing me, when he told me that the citation “isn’t a big deal and I’ll probably get the courts to drop it anyway” – this is what he told the PROMOTER OF THE EVENT!). What an incredible waste of resources: In addition to weeks of web surfing following this harmless event, the vice cop mentioned above was also seen (and accidentally photographed) at the Preparty show at McCarthy’s Pub the night before, and one of his partners was recalled walking through the Doubletree hotel lobby in downtown Detroit earlier in the weekend, where many of the out of town event attendees were staying. Why was he monitoring like this, only to completely skip any attempt to search our belongings at the event itself? Surely this wasn’t only about rocking out to some loud crazy music? But if it was about something more, surely he would’ve made a point to search us more thoroughly, confiscate the equipment, etc? It seems as though they cut their losses before they got any deeper. The arguments between the two factions of police illustrated this process pretty clearly.

We brought a lot of business into the city as a result of this event, filling up 40+ hotel rooms that were booked for the course of the long holiday weekend, and all of the room and board tourism business that comes along with it. Just because the cop is apparently a xenophobe doesn’t mean we are, although I can assure you the taste left behind for many of us is that Detroit is unwelcoming, and doesn’t want visitors. I hope the inhabitants of our own respective cities throughout North America treat him better when he finds the need to escape the confines of his purportedly beloved home (although if he really loved his city, he’d welcome people to express themselves in the arts and culture community).

Anyone who took photos, received citations, received injuries, or were assaulted in any way by the Detroit police, or who have information that can help our case, should get in contact with me and Ron Scott of the National Lawyer’s Guild. All documentation, scans of citations, photos, write-ups, etc, should be sent AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to the following email addresses: brett@c8.com and ronrsvp@aol.com. If you have any questions before sending the information, just let me know by email at brett@c8.com. If you received a citation, DO NOT PAY IT YET, and DO NOT RESPOND TO IT YET. First we need to make sure everyone is on the same page – please don’t be scared into responding. Their case is totally littered with holes and obvious documentation of excessive force. They can do nothing more to you now, and considering they forgot to sign half of the citations in the first place, we can safely assume that they’ll bungle the rest of this case as well.

I’ll be in touch as soon as I have an update. Barring contact before 10 AM EST Thursday Sep 10 from the Detroit vice cop that organized this operation (who has of yet still hasn’t bothered to discuss this case with me except for when he wrote up my ticket), I will resort to meeting the Office of the US Inspector General tomorrow to file a complaint, which will be the first in a long series of complaints to be filed by all those cited. This is only the beginning. We worked to organize this event for over four solid months, and I know we’re prepared to do the same for twice as long to make sure we’re treated justly and the cops receive the response they deserve for using excessive force against their citizenry.

We are already organized to take this as far as it needs to go. There are only a handful of individuals cited who we haven’t been in contact with us yet. If you are or know one of them, please contact me immediately.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for your support.

brett@c8.com

http://schizophrenia.c8.com

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http://fringe3lement.wordpress.com/2009/09/16/we-all-lined-up-to-dance-but-we-never-got-the-chance/

Dweller On The Fringe
An Analog Soul In A Digital World
“We all lined up to dance, but we never got the chance”
September 16, 2009 – 1:21 pm

No doubt the words Schizophrenia 4 meant something slightly different to everyone who was there. To my girlfriend and I, it was the one thing we looked forward to this past year. We went the previous year and both agreed it was something amazing; not just a party or a concert or anything as simple as that. For those few hours we KNEW we were alive. No drugs required and none wanted. Walking into the venue, you could instantly feel the energy and smell the sweat as the Midwest faithful exorcised their demons and let loose. I’d been to parties 10 years before but had never seen or felt anything like it while my girlfriend, being a complete newbie to this kind of thing, was absolutely stunned that something so perfect could exist. The feeling stayed for a long time after and we felt truly re-energized.

In the year since, it seemed like everything that could possibly go wrong for us did. Summer of broken dreams, indeed. But in the face of each blow life dealt, we knew we had something to look forward to. This wasn’t just another party; it was therapy, salvation. So we drove 9+ hours to Detroit, not knowing anybody in the city and not really caring. The journey was part of the destination and it was as if the end result would be so much sweeter just because we had to work for it.

When we got to the venue, it was absolutely perfect. Walking up the ramp into the main area, I could hear Stagediver pounding his demons into submission at about 300 beats per minute and a small but devoted crowd was lapping it up. He finished his set and smashed his Amiga, making way for In Broken Key who was due up next. His set was going great, much more raw than any of his studio recordings I’ve heard. There was a VJ who was actually doing things that improved the setting. Everybody was really getting into it and there was something in the air that said that the night was just going to get better and better. It was surreal when we all watched somebody walk up to the stage and slap handcuffs on the man who was performing.

Now, if you tell me that rave scene is a festering pit of depravity, shadiness and bad juju, I will not argue with you. But the real kicker in all of this is that Schizophrenia 4 (and it’s previous incarnations) had almost NOTHING to do with the rave scene. The last rave I went to ended up with me not even making it in the door because security had to try to grope my girlfriend and give us an unbelieveable amount elitest attitude. All the while, being egged on by a few scenesters behind us in line. I tell ya, it rifted my heart to see a music centered movement reduced to this. Needless to say, we left, drove 4 hours back home and vowed never to even attempt to attend another “rave”.

Schizophrenia 4. We pull into the parking lot and encounter a guy showing people where to park. Chatted a little bit and he was really cool. Walk up to the door, get in with no problems and no attitude. Walk up to the main area, talk to a few people, no attitude. Go to the vendor stand and meet for the first time the guy I’ve been buying records from online for the better part of a decade. And I realized right there exactly what the magic of all this is: We are a group of people who have a passion and really don’t have a whole lot of people to share it with. Get us together and there’s no time for bad attitudes, drugs or anything like that because, God damn it, we’re alive tonight and let’s not waste any time. This is a movement centered on music and, really, is pretty much the opposite of the “candy rave” stereotype that these swine probably thought they were busting up. Anyone remember t-shirts that said “Do yourself a favor, punch a raver”? Seriously, this scene is not a bunch of E’d up, dayglo teenagers looking to get their rocks off and have a popularity contest. And one look at the event itself would tell anyone that, even a Blind Pig. Where there ANY drugs found on the premises? No. Did the swine even search the attendees? No, because one look at the people there and they knew it would be a waste of time.

For the most part, these events are about people coming together to hear a type of music that is largely outcast and unappreciated. With so much talent being brought together from, literally, all over the world, who has time to worry about scoring drugs or being so messed up that they can’t appreciate the awesomeness? Not me and not a single person I saw there. I drove more than 9 hours each way and guess what? That’s not even close to what some people had to do to get there. Dedication is what you call that.

In the end, I think we all know what this was about, in fact, we were warned years ago. What we represent to them is freedom. The only question is, really, what are we going to do about it? I don’t think the swine realize it, but they’ve brought this scene closer together than any all night party could have done and, personally, I can’t wait to see the creativity that gets unleashed because of their illegal and unethical actions.

Peace to everybody out there denying conventions and breaking boundaries. I’ll see you at Schizophrenia 5.

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For those in Milwaukee: Next time you should probably grow a pair and attend a show of a genre your city helped birth.

September 19th, 2009 by Radiograffiti
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