Smarten UP! & Get To The Point Publishing
Glasspool Freighters
a book by
Jean Smith & Matthew Wascovich
cover art by Kim Gordon
a co-publishing venture:
Slow Toe Publications -- Cleveland, Ohio
Smarten UP! & Get To The Point Publishing -- Vancouver, BC
Wendy Atkinson
Songs and video:
www.myspace.com/wendyatkinson
February 2007, Smarten Up! & Get To The Point released the second solo album by bassist Wendy Atkinson called Pink Noise. The album uses only electric, acoustic and double bass to make gorgeous instrumentals that are variously poppy, abstract and ambient. Wendy will be performing the album this year at the 13th Annual Olympia Experimental Music Festival in June, 2007.
Wendy’s debut album, Trim, charted on North American college radio and was featured nationally in Canada on CBC radio’s Brave New Waves. Wendy has performed at Ladyfest (Ottawa) and the Access Artist Run Centre’s Celebration of John Cage. She was twice selected for Art in the Air, an international audio art festival. Her music was included in Sonic Landscapes, a sound art exhibit held in Michigan, along with Mecca Normal and a member of Sonic Youth. She lives in Vancouver, Canada.
Wendy Atkinson myspace page
The "Pink Noise" CD is available at:
K Records Mail Order
In 2003 Wendy Atkinson released Trim -- a solo bass-only CD -- on Smarten UP! Records (Mecca Normal's label). She is currently working on a collaboration with David Lester, guitarist for Mecca Normal.
http://www.tinforest.com/wendyatkinson
Mecca Normal -- new iTunes
Janis Zeppelin -- the twelfth CD -- early recordings, covers, experimental pieces and a long version of In January -- Smarten Up! Records, 2003.
1. Like A Rolling Stone
2. Ain't Goin' Out That Door
3. I Went Away For A While (1984)
4. It's Called Rock 'n Roll (1984)
5. In January (21 min)
6. I Don't Need To Hold Your Hand
7. Pocket Of Scribbly Gums
8. This Is My Summer Vacation
9. I Don't Get It
10. Don't Look In The Mirror
11. War Between the Neighbours
12. Elemental Steamer
Jean & Duane have some newly recorded songs up www.myspace.com/jeanduane .
MUSIC
Mecca Normal, David Lester, Duane Crone, Wendy Atkinson, Jean & Duane
BOOKS
Jean Smith, David Lester, Bud Osborn, Norman Nawrocki, Chad Norman, David Pritchett, Catherine Owen
In the early eighties, Smarten UP! was a zine created by Jean Smith, the singing half of the underground punk rock duo Mecca Normal. The free zine was written (anonymously) and published every two weeks and distributed locally at record, book and used clothing stores in Vancouver. Smarten UP! featured observations on political issues, feminism, philosophy, book and record reviews and Mecca Normal song lyrics.
At that time, there was a record pressing plant in Vancouver called IRC. In 1985 Mecca Normal took cassette tapes recorded on a Fostex 4 track into a Fiasco Brothers -- a local studio -- to master them to 1/4" tape for the record plant. Smarten UP! became a record label. The songs at that time were overtly political. "I Walk Alone" is about women's right to walk anywhere, at any time, wearing whatever the fuck she wants to. "Are You Hungry Joe?" is about poverty and food banks. Many of the songs were recorded as they were written, on the first time through. The inner groove writing on the first LP was "We Live On Indian Land". The LP went to number 1 at the university radio station in Edmonton while the accompanying paper said it was the worst record ever made, and that Jean should be killed. Actually, it said David (Lester, Mecca Normal guitar player and publisher at Get To The Point) should shoot Jean. K Records re-released the first album on CD and LP.
Smarten UP! released a special CD to formally acknowledge Jean and David's 20 year creative partnership. Janis Zeppelin includes never-released songs recorded in the early 80s, new experimental pieces and the song War Between The Neighbours.
Janis Zeppelin and Mecca Normal's books, artwork and t-shirts are available at
BuyOlympia.com
In the early nineties Jean wrote a novel of experimental fiction. David liked it and formed Get To The Point Publishing to publish and distribute I Can Hear Me Fine. Jean's second novel The Ghost of Understanding was published in 1998 by Arsenal Pulp Press.
In the late nineties, when David's publishing empire was on a bit of an upswing, Jean suggested they compound project names to create Smarten UP! & Get To The Point (Or maybe it was David's idea.) Now they use the original and combined imprints for their releases.
In 2004 Jean and David added art exhibits to Mecca Normal performances, some of which now include a workshop or lecture called How Art & Music Can Change the World. Their events take place in art schools, university and high school classrooms, community and youth centres, art galleries as well as rock venues.
Mecca Normal is on Kill Rock Stars.
The Observer -- the new CD -- is available online: www.BuyOlympia.com
David Lester is the author of a book of statistics on poverty Gruesome Acts of Capitalism (Arbeiter Ring Publishing) -- the profits from which go to the Centre For Victims of Torture (Toronto) -- $1000 has already been raised. Update second edition forthcoming.
Check out the Mecca Normal NEWSLETTER
for shows, tours, artwork, photos and video.
Mecca Normal on MySpace
Artist Talk / Classroom Event:
How Art and Music Can Change the World
REVIEW of "I Can Hear Me Fine" by Jean Smith
I read your book, "I Can Hear Me Fine" twice. When I finished reading it the first time I tried to start reading another book that someone had given me; the blurbs on the back said it was named "best book of the year... blah blah blah" by the NY Times, LA Times, many many Times. Anyway, the best seller was so stupid and I wanted to keep reading you so I read your book again, also fearing that I'd missed parts in the beginning when I'd initially started reading it standing up on the crowded Metro in DC. Your book filled me with the most amazing feelings about EVERYTHING and inspired me so much. I want to write it all out. I can't stop carrying the book around with me.... so I won't! -- Laurie
