Chris Hall - ProfilesArchive

About Me

It is only with the Heart that one can see rightly.
. -- Antoine deSaintExupery.
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"A human being is a part of the whole called by us "the universe," a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest--a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening the circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.
. -----Albert Einstein-----.
i.e., O Mitakuye Oyasin, as the Lakota language would say. All My Relations includes everything. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ----------------------------------------- Hi, my name's Chris Hall. I'm no more special than anyone else. We are all both nothing special and special as fuck. I do alright and i aim to have fun and create a better world than the one I was given. Fuck yeah I volunteer at 924Gilman, the all ages music venue in Berkeley--it's a fucking honor. I do sound for lots of the shows there--and have booked shows off n on for a # of years. Ya gotta be careful doing a job like that, not to let ego get in the way of being of true service to the larger picture of things. It's a challenge and I did my best. I learned a lot. I'm a huge fan of live music shows of all sorts, especially hardcore, rowdy street punk and crust. I like fast rockin' stuff w/ passion and beauty--i.e, stuff that kicks ass. One thing i just gotta say is that I LOVE, I do so effin' much, the people both on and off stage who make the underground music scene happen. It amazes me just how much!!! I try to keep positive about stuff. No point in being a pessimist; it wouldn't work anyway, hahaha. Oh man, my life keeps unfolding in awesome ways. I'm diggin it. When i was a college undergrad i in psychology i did a lot of work with Autistic kids. learned a hell of a lot from them about life. They taught me by example, to truely live in the moment and not hold back among other cool things. I feel a lot of grattitude for them teaching me that. Life is in this moment and the next and the next....not in the past or the future. btw, is it a little bit true that you probably spend way too much time on MySpace & friendster? i know i do at times. So i want to say to you now, "get the fuck off here now and go to a show, or go write a poem or write a song, practice your instrument, do your homework, study for that test, watch the sky, cuddle with a friend, cuddle with yourself, make love, etc. You know you've been on here way too long already, haven't you? yep, I thot so, hahaha. -------------------------------- Well if you're not leaving just yet, I'll say a little more. As for me, I ain't better or worse than anybody. EveryONE is a unique gift, even if we don't see eye to eye on some things or maybe not even on anything, but I can still respect you and appreciated that you're way fucking different. And though I'm not edge, i have a LOT OF RESPECT for those who make it their personal choice to live drug free and have supported by booking, making flyers & promoting shows for many a sXe hardcore band over the years. I am inspired by the high degree of self regard exhibited. Me, I'm a friendly guy, and I find humour in lots of things. I'm into waking up from this dream and owning who I AM--i.e., being as God conscious as i can be--and, for some reason, i find that hilariously funny. i've never been one to prosilatize and never will. Phuck doing that. I certainly don't give a shit if you're atheist, a satanist, agnostic, or a flamin Jehovas witness, tho the later, i must say, sometimes can be hard for anyone to take, if you know what i mean, because I like dialoguing ideas with people, and am open minded to listening to your ideas. One way conversations, like some religious zealots engage in, are just boring. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------- I feel blessed n lucky to feel happy and at peace most of the time. For some reason I feel a strong affinity for the underdogs in life. I have loved music since forever and started out playing clarinet in grade school then having my dad bring me back a guitar from Japan when i was twelve. ----- ------------------------------------------------------------ -----------------------------I have been an active volunteer--I have since 1994--at 924Gilman, the infamous all ages underground music club in Berkeley, CA. Check out http://www.924gilman.org/ I go to a lot of hardcore 'n punk shows SF bayarea and elsewhere. Fukin love live shows. And, as a matter of fact, that IS me at the end of the Hellfest 2000 dvd video--damn, if I don't look like Dick Cavett or something, haha. It was an honour to be there & video. I mention it because the things I said then, about no fights ovr 3 days w/ 2500 hc kids still holds ever so true today as then. Violence and fights at shows shuts scenes down. Most of the time it's over petty misunderstandings and territoriality crap. That's just backwards. Reaching out to others and keeping an open heart and open mind and tolerating diversity only makes your own scene & world that much more strong. Hardcore and punk is a big extended family to me. I LOVE my family.---------------------------------------Dude, you still reading this? Time to go do something non-cyber bro, OK? You should really log off now, haha, not kidding----------------------------------------------------- -------anyway, where was i? oh yeah, Back in 1996 I started having the name, hardcore, to give the kind of music i'd been loving for a long time. My love for the best of what hardcore stands for runs deep and I don't think i'll ever stop supporting this living breathing beautiful underground hc scene and I appreciate all you suckas who keep it alive and well and stay with it for the long haul. --------------------- I love lots of kinds of music. I love to dance & play music. circle pits rule. skankin's cool. hc dancin is fun, too. i love to sing crazy harmony-improv acapella with friends. I appreciate my own worth, not in a egotistical way, but from a realization--one that took a long time to sink in--that I can't REALLY love anyone else unless I love myself first kinda thing. I hated myself for far too long. I'm into letting go of dwelling on people and events that hurt me. That's masochistic, and fuck all that. I try and move on and forgive and that's served me hella well. I'm a romantic. I like sex; it's healthy & sacred. Actually i fucking love it. I like holding hands and cuddling. I was born under the Chinese year of the Tiger. I like Native American Sweat lodges, n drumming and singing. I'm fierce and gentle, a good friend and empathic. I sometimes feel what's going on with someone emotionally before even they do and have to double check to make sure who's feeling what. Fuck racism, sexism, mysogyny, homophobia and anyone's arrogant intolerant ego mind, including my own. ------------------------------------------------------------ -------------- In 1995, after a 4 day native american visionquest--and because of the symbolism I saw plain as day-- i started committing fulltime to volunteering at the punk club in Berkeley. At first that meant working in the gilman stoar. In the "924Gilman" book, in the portion of the book by "Chris H", I talk about that vision quest i took and of the mohawked anarchy symbol I saw.In late '96 i started booking shows at Gilman: mostly hardcore. The very 1st show i ever booked, pre-gilman booking, was a birthday party at my Berkeley Ellis St. house, June '96. It as a punk/hc show with Thugs from Mars (pre--The Enemies), WetNap (pre-The Cost), Rely, Powerhouse, Uberkunst, etc. Str8 edgers and drunks, punkers and HC thunks. It was rad to have a unity across personality style groups. My 1st show booked at Gilman was Nov 1996 with H2O, Power House, Second Coming, The Hoods, & Built to Last (SanDiegoHC). I put in about 4.5 years worth of booking shows at Gilman, 2 of which I was head of booking. I'm not booking there at present, but I do sound for shows at Gilman on a regular basis, for whatever's needed. sometimes new band night can be a real treat. I will always love Gilman st. Nowhere like it in the world. Go there n BE a Volunteer. Do it. It needs YOU. ----------------------------------------------------------- My goal is to live my life fully from the inside out. To look within for who I am and bring that being out as much as I can. To get out of the way and allow. I love my friends, dearly--and i probably even love you, friend or foe.-------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------- I love the EARTH; She's some kinda beautiful, way beyond awesome. She's Sacred. We are in trouble on a global scale--big time--and either you, yeah you, bring out the best in you that you been keepin hidin from us--all yall with noone left out, no one--or we all might as well kiss it goodbye and hope for another planet to school you. Show us YOUR treasures. Now's the time! Yeah, you got 'em hidden away so well YOU don't even know they're there. Well they are and quit hoarding them. They belong to all of us you fuck. YOu're not SUPPOSED to keep them all to yourself. Look for them inside. Come on. Get busy. So what if it's hard work and dirty. Treasures ARE buried in the dirt sometimes. Get dirty, whatever. You're doing it for all of us remember that. We ARE counting on YOU. oh yeah, and I Love you. Now, seriously, you're gonna miss that show, or that friend or half a million other things better than the internet so get the fuck outta here now. Go have effin fun, sucka! haha. And here is a sweet video of a family who has made a farm in Panama using permaculture methods. Sweet joy; worth working for--the pictures ... beautiful. If you get tired of the repeating song, turn down the volume and watch in silence. Silence is not a bad thing, ya know.Permaculture Farm Finca Luna Bocas del Toro Panama

My Interests

924 GILMAN.ORG

Mixing sound at Gilman, Going to shows, Hanging w/ friends, DIY music--not corporate rock--dancing, singing, playing & listening to music, anti-racist action, international solidarity, workin out, experiencing nature's beauty, animals, traveling, Meditation, playing in the inner & outer worlds, Loving, enjoying LIFE. Good Times! check out KPFA Radio.
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I'd like to meet:

YOU. You're worth WAY more n you think. What you got inside you is worth far far more than a bazillion times the value of all the gold in Fort Knox, and then some. ha ha ha ha ha you say, but it's true! IT's FUCKING TRUE TRUE TRUE. I kid you the Fuck not! and by inside, i don't mean your physical organs, blood n guts, tho they be worth a lot to you when you're alive, i mean the essence of who you are. I look for the best that's in you and me and try not to dwell on peoples faults. Hey, we're all perfectly imperfect on purpose so we don't go being to into just ourselves and not reach out to and appreciate the other persons in life who are there to show us other qualities we may lack. I love the nobody as much as the so-called somebodies. it don't matter, all that fame crap. It's not important..., but i don't hold it against anyone either. I tend to rute for the underdog. Top dogs don't need rooting for. And, just so you know, if i don't know you yet and you want to add me, just send me an email introducing yourself, thx.Have Fun.

Music:

I say, support local bands and your local music scene and Go to live shows--they rule!I Love Hardcore & oldschool punk music a lot, but my taste is quite eclectic; includes rockabilly, oi, i-scremocore,noise, ska, indie-Rock, hiphop, RnB, grind, folk, bluegrass, celtic, classical & experimental. Some of my favorite bands include... Lifetime, BANE, Good Riddance, TRIAL, 108, Black Flag, Life Long Tragedy, Strike Anywhere, The Specials, The Selector, Madness, 7 Seconds, Sex Positions, These Arms are Snakes, FLATFOOT-56, CONVERGE, Botch, Champion, ZAO, Nodes of Ranvier, Pallalax, Minus the Bear, Citizen Fish, Another Breath, No Turning Back, Neurosis, SuBHUMANS, Kaos Pilot, At Risk, No Hope for the Kids, ReDEMPTion87, Hollow Ground, The Business, Dropkick Murphys, H2O, Resilience, Lower Class Brats, Dead Kennedys, Iron Lung, Sabertooth Zombie, Some Kind Of Hate, Akimbo, COMEBACK KID, Foo Fighters, Thrice, Alkaline Trio, PHENOMENAUTS, From Monument To Masses, DWARVES, Set Your Goals, Kill Your Idols, Propaghandi, Suicide File, SHAI HULUD, Deadguy, 18 Visions, Bleeding Through, Jimmy Eat World, AFI, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, Leeway, Fate 13, Scars of Tomarrow, Only in Dreams, Thee Merry Widows, Paint Out The Light, The Dead Unknown, Books Lie, Ducky Boys, Hep Cat, Sense Field, Xiu Xiu, Lightning Bolt, Endzweck, Ensign, Whiskey Rebels, Bright Calm Blue, DEATH BY STEREO, Minor Threat, Q and Not You, DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, Drag Boday, These Arms are Snakes, ISIS, Cro-Mags, As I Lay Dying, Kid Dynamite, Avail, Gather, Verse, Undying, WITH HONOR, Snapcase, UNDEROATH, Indecision, Most Precious Blood,Disembodied, Martyr AD, REFUSED, Whiskey Rebels, Training For Utopia, Ignite, Andrew WK, BELOVED, From Ashes Rise,Reflux, Diehard Youth, Striking Distance, Comadre, Better Than A Thousand, Bloodline Caligraphy, Crown of Thornz, Throwdown, CAVE-IN (both the OLD hc stuff AND the new avante-garde stuff), Sky Came Falling, The REPUTATION, Daughters, Boy Sets Fire, Bouncing Souls, Hot Water Music, MeWithOutYou, Willhaven, Warzone, Andamantium, One King Down, TIME In MALTA, Madball,Time for Living, TSOL, Turmoil, Twelve Tribes, Yaphet Kotto, Unearth, SWINGIN UTTERS, Turbo ACs, Circle Jerks, Face to Face, M.D.C., Ducky Boys, Crown of Thornz, DRI, The Forgotten, Terror, THOUGHT RIOT, Stretch Arm Strong, TRAGEDY, Sick of It All, Hoods, Mirah, VARUKERS, Vitamin X, Ten Yard Fight, In My Eyes, Fastbreak, Limp Wrist, Babyland, JASON WEBLEY, LaPLEBE, Boom Boom Kid, Suicidal Tendencies, Demented Are Go, Nerve Agents, The SICK, xBxRx, Greenday, Elliott, Nirvana, CYNDIE LAUPER, Chumbawumba, David Bowie, Nine Inch Nails, Pete Seager, Sinead O'Conner, Stevie Wonder, Smashing Pumpkins, The Who, Phil Oches, Dwarves, Bad Brains, Brainoil, The Epoxies, the Briefs, Bottles and Skulls, Monster Squad etc., etc., etc....

Movies:

"Green Street Hooligans" w/ ex-Lord of the Rings character, Frodo, in a new protaganist role, is an intense inside look at the violent life of English football hooligans. It's sad, too--and really good. "Fearless", Jet Li plays the life of Chinese martial Artist Huo Yuanjia from 1910; awesome and inspiring movie. the character he plays shows wha humility means and is still a fierce fighting talent--he was the BEST & won the heart of his Japanese opponent and a huge following inspiring so many; me included. Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004) is the latest inspiring documentary movie i saw. It shows that one person can make a big difference. I love the kids honest photo gallerys & I was also struck by the long term commitment given by the film maker. Trial's singer, Greg Bennick, co-wrote the documentary vid you'll find here: http://www.flightfromdeath.com/ I watched it and found it to be so enlightened and informative about the ideas of Ernest Becker. He shows us there is a strong corelation between how we humans think about our own deaths and the levels of violence in the world. Great, great peice of work. Highly recommended. In the movie Greg mentions that he was reading Becker's book while he was on tour with his band in Nor-Cal. Well, the last time Trial played Gilman in '99, Greg had mentioned it to me and he was reading that book off on the side of the stage most of the whole time his band wasn't on stage for their set. Now i know how moved he was by Becker's work. So very awesome, that. Aussie Park Boyz was amazing expose of gangs in Australia--brutal stuff. "Hotel Rwanda" got my anger up. "Finding Forester" got me to cry. Both good things for me and great movies. "Waking Life" is one of the best animated movies i've seen, mostly because to the interesting ideas explored. "Rivers & Tides" was about environmental art of Andy Goldsworthy. Very inspiring. Loved "Monsieur Ibrahim", a sweet story of an elder Iranian man (a Sufi) who becomes a father figure to an orphaned Parisian youth. "My Architect: a son's journey" was a delightful biography of a great but little known modern architect, Louis I. Kahn, who's master piece of a bldg is the capital of Bangaledesh, among others. Akira Kirasawa's "Ran" was rad as was "Ray" , the movie about the life of Ray Charles, is hella powerful & inspiring. I watched it on DVD. What a positive influence Ray Charles made in the world in spite of his heroin addition. Glad he finally quite, though. A funny little film called "Smoke Signals" is about growing up on an Indian Reservation. I laughed and I cried--sure i admit it. I've been told "Pow-wow Highway" is similar and even better, so some friends who like native american themes say, but I haven't actually seen it yet. 28 Days Later made it clear to me i'd kill to stay alive if i faced zoombies like in that radically good movie. Nicholas Roeg's "Walkabout" is a masterpiece that if you've never seen, you should; and see the Director's cut. The photograpy is awesome, though i never got how they could eat ALL that food that aboriginal 16 year old catches for them. I like the optional 2nd ending. Nice water hole swimming shots. "The Hours", a movie about the life and works of Virginia Wolf is Way Cool. Makes me want to read something by her. Tom Hanks' movie "Cast Away" is great. Another movie,"What the "Bleep" Do We Know?", was the shit!!! Go see it. "I, Robot" rips, as does "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". Alexander is also awesome even though it's way fucking long--3+ hrs. a sampling of other movies i like are Akira, Harry Potter No.3, Whale Rider, Once Were Warriors, A.I., Fight Club, The Green Mile, Sixth Sense, Contact, October Sky, American History X, GroundHog Day, L.I.E., Trainspotting, The Last Samarii, The Last Wave, and Harald & Maude (is another classic--recently re-saw this again...it's still one of my all-time favorites. It's got an entire soundtrack of Cat Stevens), .... Lord Of The Rings-all 3, Dead ManWalking, Bagdad Cafe, Resurrection, Cinema Paradiso, Joy Luck Club, Koyanasquatski, Francois Truffaut's 400 Blows, The Pianist, Sixth Sense, etc. etc. I love movies almost as much as live music, but music's my first love.

Television:

I don't watch much...maybe a movie once in a while, but really. mainstream TV helps corporations sell useless products to us and helps via the corp news companies, generate more fear on the planet than is there or warranted. the movie, Bowling for Columbine, illucidates that concept quite well. TV's overall msg is designed to herd you into more shopping---thus, FUCK TV--or rather, fuck the greedful intention fueling the machine that uses TV to keep people on this planet burdened and our environment laden with toxic crap from the tons of stuff we mindlessly throw out from the good we bought by watching TV. Mostly it's like heroin for the masses---fuckin' nasty shit. ...WAKE UP n kill your TV! Don't let it waste your precious life.

Books:

Last read was "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer, a book about the life and tragic death of a young man, Chris McCandless, who tries to test himself in wilds of Alaska near Denali Nat'l park at the foot of Mt. McKinely, but dies of starvation. I was moved deeply by his story. before that, read "My War" by Colby Buzzell. Recently finished, O.S.Card's "Seventh Son", james Michner's "Cheasapeake" n Harry Potter6 " the Half-Blood Prince" one. I love, "All Ages : Reflections On Straight Edge" by Beth Lahickey. John Irving's "A Prayer for Owen Meeny" was laugh-out-loud-in-public kind of book. Funny n touching. The schmatzy movie "Simon Birch" was loosely based of this novel, but the novel's WAY WAY WAY better. It'll make you laugh arnd cry. ie., Priceless. "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence" by Persig. Read it to get an understanding of the flawed thinking our country--western civilization-- inherited from the Greeks and Romans that has us viewing the world and ourselves as disconnected, as apposed to a indigenous or eastern mind view as being apart of the whole fabric of life. Other books i've really enjoyed and recommend: Keri Hulme's "The Bone People". OrsonScott. Card's " Shadow of the Giant". I love books by this author, but not his personal politics. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. is a moving book about rescuing an orphan Afgani-kid. It sucker punches you with its sontent. (Powerful). Previous reads: Yan Martel's "Life of Pi".... excellent. Then, a bunch by Orsan Scott Card: Xenocide, Ender's Shadow, Speaker for the Dead, & Ender's Game. Ender's Shadow was my favorite, and Ender's Game a close 2nd. Other books read and recommended: The DaVinci Code, all 5 Harry Potter books ( i read them all in 2 weeks) wicked rad all of em. oh let's see, Dharma Punx was excellent & moving. i like biographies--recent reads: 1 about Aikido founder, and another about St. Francis of Assissi. Wally Lamb's: She Come Undone and his newer one about the twins. Poisonwood Bible. Sci-Fi's a fav...Ursula K. LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, Lathe of Heaven, etc. and William Gibson's cyberpunk series: Neuromancer, Mona Lisa Overdrive, etc. I Like fantasy, too, such as David Eddings books and others, along with non-fic and other fiction stuff. My tastes are eclectic. I like uplifting & moving stories and adventure, and other radom stuff.

Heroes:

A Hero is in each of us. Be the hero in your own life. Don't wait for someone else to be courageous. We ARE the ones we've been waiting for. Wake up to that... You're potential for awesome is limitless. ..

My Blog

I need your good thoughts for me: during my Oct 6-10th Vision Quest

I seek your good prayers and thoughts for a strong good Vision during my traditional Native Americna Vision Quest i'm about to sojourn on coming soon. Beginning the morning of Oct 7th and for 4 days t...
Posted by Chris Hall on Fri, 28 Sep 2007 04:29:00 PST

Looking Through Lakota Eyes, by David Little Elk

LOOKING THROUGH LAKOTA EYES. An Essay by David Little Elk To speak the Lakota Language, one needs to be aware of the Lakota perspective so that the correct words will be used. This is achieved by eit...
Posted by Chris Hall on Thu, 20 Sep 2007 05:46:00 PST

Bands ousht to make Indian Reservations a regular part of their tour agenda

The westward Manifest Destiny movement in our country's history, i.e., the conquest of, and the resulting stealing of Indigenous lands and the subjugation and degradation of many many indigenous ...
Posted by Chris Hall on Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:53:00 PST

Committed to Sundance next year = sweats n fasts n goosebumps

I get goosebumps at how awesome a healing ritual native american Sundance is and grateful that i am being allowed to dance next year in June at the 2008 American Horse/Afraid of Be...
Posted by Chris Hall on Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:30:00 PST

Hello Santa Cruz friends, and others...

I was so VERY wrong in thinking & saying that Cassidy Meijer, my Godson who has ALWAYS meant the world to me, had died recently, because different music acquiantences of mine h...
Posted by Chris Hall on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 01:24:00 PST

weird thing about only being a little bit psychic

Yesterday a friend said a friend of his said he saw my Godson walking around downtown Santa Cruz a week ago. If that's true--oh man oh man oh man i want that to be true--then there's b...
Posted by Chris Hall on Thu, 23 Aug 2007 05:11:00 PST

i hope they treated you well

I thot your spirit came to me late Sat. nite n said they found you. and as i heard those words in my head, i looked down at the sound board to one of the un-used channels and my eyes landed...
Posted by Chris Hall on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 09:25:00 PST

Why double checking what someone means is SO vital.

14 Years ago, what someone said on the phone..... "oh, he's in the bathroom and can't come to the phone"---- and my mis-interpretation of that "little white lie" led to an absence on my part in the&nb...
Posted by Chris Hall on Tue, 07 Aug 2007 09:07:00 PST

Lakota Sundance Singing Experience--Indigenous Grandmas RULE!

Humbling, Powerful, awe inspiring, eye opening, sad, and heart opening are a few words to begin to get at the breadth of my amazing trip to Lakota Indian territory June 12-22 a couple weeks back in su...
Posted by Chris Hall on Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:42:00 PST

Flip-Flops--life's a roller coaster sometimes.

It's weird. Most of the time i feel great, believing in myself and a top of the world attitude. at other times i'm scared of life and don't wanna leave my bedroom or go out and see anyo...
Posted by Chris Hall on Mon, 25 Sep 2006 11:00:00 PST