PODCAST INTERVIEW W/ON THE LIST

Here's a recent interview I did. If you want to listen, go here. FUN FUN
http://cdn3.libsyn.com/onthelistpodcast/OnTheList05.mp3

11:49 AM - 1 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

LYNETTE KNACKSTEDT MEMORIAL AT 924 GILMAN

A quick note about the Lynette Knackstedt memorial concert. In addition to an acoustic set, I will play a 7 song set of SKANKIN’ PICKLE tunes with a full band. I will dust off the saxaphone and with the help of the band MONKEY will be playing songs I haven’t played in over 10 years. Please join us in honoring the life of Lynette Christine Knackstedt at a memorial concert on April 19th 2008 at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, CA.. All proceeds will be donated to the Ohlhoff Recovery Programs, 601 Steiner St., San Francisco, CA for drug awareness and recovery. Donations may also be made by calling (415) 626-9782 or online at http://www.ohlhoff.org/.

Peace, mike park

7:30 AM - 0 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR-ALL MY LOVE

Thank you Dr. King for the non-violence stance on equality. 
Peace always,

Mike Park

12:40 AM - 1 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment

LYNETTE KNACKSTEDT(1970-2007) RIP

Lynette Christine Knackstedt
4/26/1970 - 12/7/2007
R. I. P.
It's been a tough week thus far. Monday morning I received the news of Lynette's passing through a message on the asian man records voice mail. A long and thorough account of the last days of Lynette's life through the voice of her younger brother Eric whom was probably 6 or 7 years old when I last saw him. The realization that I hadn't even physically seen Lynette in probably 5 years now and the last time we talked was last year.

We had lost contact do to various circumstances, but our last conversation was fun and I knew that we still cared deeply about each other. We had grown up together through Jr. High, High School, and then 7 years of our adult life was spent in non-stop contact during the Skankin' Pickle years. I taught Lynette how to play SKA. I remember sitting in the now office of AMR trying to teach her SKA upstrokes in hopes that we could start a band.

I remember how nervous she was at our first show. She had a song where she sang solo and her voice shrunk in fear. She would grow into a great singer/guitarist and a voice with such strength and vibrato.

In high school we both worked at a phone soliciting company for the SF CHRONICLE NEWSPAPER. I can still remember the sales pitch...."I'm calling from the Chronicle/Examiner newspaper and right now we're sending our paper out to all the residents in your area.... YADA YADA YADA... For a time we comprised the afternoon shift which was just me and her for a few months. The boss would just leave us there and we would laugh at the fact that we had no sales and didn't really care. She was just trying to save some cash to buy a car of some sort. That car would turn into an old volkswagon bug that would last a good ten years.

I remember when Lynette told me she was gay. It was 1989 and I was the first person in the band that she would turn to and that meant a lot to me and still does. We shared so much together. The early years of touring make for the best memories. Sleeping on strangers floors, getting paid in gift certificates to McDonalds cause the club made no money and this is all they could offer, driving through snow storms, getting heckled by skinheads(both racist and non-racist), playing in front of just the bartender in Baton Rouge, LA., playing in front of 11,000 people in Long Beach, CA.. There are so many stories that are filling my head right now. Things that I haven't thought of in years.

And then I think of all the lost time and how I have really no idea what she had been up to for the last decade. The demise of Skankin' Pickle was ugly. We had become a band that was generating a lot of money and at the height of the SKA boom in the mid 90's we were pioneering the third wave. But I had lost the passion for it and therefore couldn't go on. I think it caused some resentment and anger towards me as we had worked so hard for 7 years to get to the point we were at. So things were left on a sore note.

And now 11 years has passed and my friend is gone. I miss you Lynette.
Peace,
Mike "Bruce Lee' Park

11:31 PM - 13 Comments - 20 Kudos - Add Comment

Ahhhh.. It’s September? Well, finally some new songs for you and you and you and you!!

The fact that I write almost daily at MIKEPARKMUSIC.COM means that this little blog thing is going to be neglected. But hey, two new songs are up for you to enjoy. I've even made them downloadable. So share with your friends or cover your ears in disgust. It's your choice.

I'll be heading over to the UK again starting on FEB. 22nd, 2008 along with my friend CHRIS McCAUGHAN of SUNDOWNER. Together,(along with our friend HIRO TANAKA) we'll take trains all across the UK and then through mainland EUROPE. I'm looking forward to playing shows again. I'm going to have some sort of new record availabe for that tour, so keep your eyes, ears, mouths? open. Be well.
Smile huge.
Peace,
Mike Park

9:54 PM - 5 Comments - 4 Kudos - Add Comment

ASIAN MAN RECORDS 11TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!

Besides the truck load of 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY POSTERS, we didn't do anything special last year, so the decision to have an 11 year anniversary party is upon us.  As you may or may not remember....We used to host an Asian Man Records day at an Oakland A's game.  We bypassed last year, but the previous year we rented a generator, set up a PA, and just started having punk bands play music.  Security didn't kick us out and we made it through three bands. 
 
On July 21st, we will celebrate the 11th year anniversary of Asian Man Records with the following bands:
THE LAWRENCE ARMS
DAN POTTHAST
THE HOT TODDIES
ANDREW JACKSON JIHAD
PTERADON and SHINOBU
 
Here's the info:
The gates open at 4 PM ish.  We'll be set up in the far north corner of the parking lot right next to the freeway.  Look for a white tent that blazes PLEA FOR PEACE on top situated next to a red van.  Basically, as soon as they open the gates, we'll set up and start putting bands on.  Hopefully we don't get shut down, but the chance to do a DIY show in the parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum is too good.  Everything of course is totally free and we will provide complimentary hot dogs, sodas, and beer for those of you who are 21+. 
 
A bunch of us will also be watching the game.  So if you want to see the game and sit together as a group, then just buy the cheapest ticket which is upper reserve and meet us in SECTION 238.    By the way it's the A's vs. the Mariners.  GO A'S!!! 
 
For more info.. just hit me up with an email mikeasianman@aol.com and I can let you know anything you wish to know.  We will also be hosting a formal club show at the BOTTOM OF THE HILL on FRIDAY JULY 20th.  Same lineup, same excitement, but no free hot dogs.

11:04 AM - 1 Comments - 1 Kudos - Add Comment

SENSELESS KILLINGS!! STOP THE VIOLENCE!!

11:14 AM

Thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the shooting yesterday at Virginia Tech. It's frustrating when the news of another school shooting clogs up the media outlets. I often wonder what drives a human being to kill another? Or even the desire to fight at all. Aggression seems to be such a normal outlet for our species. Ultimate fighting, boxing, hockey, fighting, fighting, video games, killing, more fighting, war, terrorists, extremists, fascists, fighting, anger management, intimidation, being hard, ahhhhhhh....

The gunman was a Korean male who had been in the US since 1992. It's something that hit my mom a bit harder than the usual news of tragedy. The idea that a Korean could do something so horrible brought tears to her eyes, but I'm glad she realizes that we're all capable of committing horrible acts of violence. The Korean race is not pardoned from such activities.

Yes, this is not a normal newsletter for Asian Man Records, but I feel an important one. I tend to keep things lighthearted in hopes that my politics will not stronghold anyone to feel uncomfortable. Yes, our mission statement is loud and clear:
NO RACISM
NO SEXISM
NO HOMOPHOBIA
NO VIOLENCE
But I realize a large part of the Asian Man Records community are young adults and I never want to shove politics down your throats. It's ironic that we are amidst a huge push for our sister non-profit PLEA FOR PEACE. Another trying experience as we have gone through countless hours of red tape in hopes of securing a permanent home for our youth center. But alas, the city of San Jose doesn't understand the need for a punk based music venue. One that is alcohol free and a safe place for our youth. We're running alone in the support department, but I'm confident the center will open this year. We've held various fund raisers and continue to raise funds through various outlets like tabling, benefit concerts, and public donations. We just released a 2 disc CD set called PLEA FOR PEACE VOL. 2. In lieu of a deal of the week, I am just posting this CD for sale. 100% of the money goes towards the PLEA FOR PEACE FOUNDATION. I usually hate to beg, but here I am asking you for your support by buying this CD.

We received a donation from FUGAZI in the form of volumes 21-30 of their live series. All pre-orders will be entered into a drawing to win these recordings and we will announce the winner next week on APRIL 27th. Those who know me well understand my excitement that FUGAZI is somehow involved with PFP. Ian Mackaye, DISCHORD RECORDS, my goodness....they are the reason Asian Man exists. Anyways, thanks for reading this. Thanks for your support. If you have any comments or just want to write me, here's my email: mikeasianman@aol.com
Peace always,
Mike Park

5:15 PM - 3 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

PROPS FROM JESSE MICHAELS ON MY OPERATION IVY COVER

Got this message from Jesse. I love OP IVY very much, so getting a compliment from him is very nice.....


From JESSE:
Hi Mike,
This is Jesse. Hope you are well. All is well over here. Nothing much happening...Going to PA tomorrow to help my Mom out with some stuff..writing a lot..Hope you are kicking ass and taking names, thanks for the rad cover it sounds awesome,
Jesse

10:11 PM - 3 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. MY HEART AND SOUL THANKS YOU!!
Current mood: awake

1 AM
Martin Luther King, Jr., (January 15, 1929-April 4, 1968)
I should be asleep, but the thought of MLK JR. has me inspired.
It's hard to believe someone so young could bring forth such power and grace through non-violent measure. Can you imagine? Looking the other way whilst even the black community started to turn against him. Choosing the more popular "BY ALL MEANS NECESSARY" philosophy of Malcolm X. But through it all, he was steadfast and believed in peace. Look at our culture in 2007. One that thrives off violence in a so called civilized 21st century. What have we learned? Where are we now? And how can we grow towards peace? MLK JR inspires me daily to be a better man.
Peace always,
Mike Park

1:00 AM - 1 Comments - 0 Kudos - Add Comment

GERMANY, AUSTRIA, SWITZERLAND, FRANCE, and LUX..THANK YOU!!!

I'm back home after a 17 hour hell flight via Continental Airlines. I already miss the great new friends I met in Europe. Basically I wanted to say thank you for singing along, thank you for the smiling faces, thank you for your kindness, and thank you for allowing me to play music in your country. DANKE, MERCI...
Peace always, Mike Park

8:20 AM - 5 Comments - 3 Kudos - Add Comment