OAKLAND

most of the complaints were related to junk in the vacant lot next door. The illegal interior structure was either not investigated, or it was the case that the inspectors stopped by, no one answered the door, they couldn't check it out, they made a note in their file, and went on to their next appointment.

https://thump.vice.com/en_us/article/maria-minerva-cherushii-oakland-essay-rip

Very good one, that. Enjoyed this one as well:

http://ww2.kqed.org/arts/2016/12/08/chelsea-faith-dolan-peerless-electronic-musician-full-of-exuberant-joy/

xxp ah of course, i remember reading that now.

A friend/colleague told me he's involved with people organizing volunteer efforts to get various art/music/living spaces in the Bay Area up to code. I'm sure your firsthand accounts would be helpful in a lot of ways, Sarahell.

ilx messages to me actually work.

the using the fire for political pointmaking continues

https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/12/oakland-ghost-ship-artists-warehouse-fire/

At the same time, artists don’t take up residence in warehouses out of a desire for communal living or an appreciation for deindustrial aesthetics.

who is this guy and why is he kinda talking out of his ass here.

John Carl Baker is a Mellon-ACLS public fellow. He holds a PhD in cultural studies.

he has STUDIED THIS academically!

its not such a bad article but enough already anyway

although maybe, not enough. I had a meeting with the CEO of my company yesterday; he's a good guy, smart, intelligent. But he had absolutely no idea people were living in warehouses. I told him I have at least one employee who lives in a place very similar to GhostShip who lost 4 friends in the fire. He was like 'why do they live there?" and I had a hard time getting across the long list of reasons why people choose to do this, smart or not. The main thing that resonated with him was that it was affordable.

KQED is running a series of nice tributes to the deceased.

https://ww2.kqed.org/arts/programs/oakland-warehouse-memorial/

Those have all been very lovely.

Nice (if sometimes obvious in tone) overview story of the attendees as community

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/10/oakland-fire-victims-a-family-of-connections-much-larger-than-nightlife/

I'm starting to feel more "normal" in that I can read and respond to things like this like a normal ilxor

http://www.factmag.com/2016/12/13/oakland-fire-ghost-ship-rave/

What is your response?

mostly good, esp. re the term "rave" and the community in question.

however:
juncture and axis are used incorrectly
and why cite SRL in terms of the 80s influences when they just did the machines and spectacle and any music was done by others, like Monte Cazzaza (Factrix), already named. Re/Search was a publication -- not sure why they are listed also. It was like they wanted to have a list, and SRL and Re/Search were parts of that scene and have lasting influence, but it's worded in terms of music, and so it's sloppy. They probably should have added Negativland to that list of 80s things, though they are a bit dorky for some of those people, but they were cooler at the time.

Some of the details here just make it all worse. Clear institutional confusion at work:

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/13/ghost-ship-fire-atf-to-address-oakland-inferno-that-killed-36/

I thought I was going to read something that was actually surprising. None of this is surprising. This is normal. The small ratio of fire inspectors and building inspectors to buildings in Oakland is comparable to the police situation, where there are way fewer cops per capita than in most other cities. All of these things have allowed underground art and culture to flourish in Oakland for decades. Because the likelihood of getting busted is so low compared to other places, it is attractive to people. When some place does get busted it's an event. Sadly, I've gotta qualify that -- if some place that does not have a predominantly black audience and isn't doing hip-hop shows gets busted -- because in general, the major government concerns in Oakland about shows in illegal venues revolves around people getting shot.

so they are gonna focus on rap and hip-hop and flyers/event announcements that "look black"

Someone on facebook linked to the 4ch@n thread referenced here, and it was sickening. Truly staring into the alt-right abyss.
http://www.thefader.com/2016/12/13/ghost-ship-rhinoceropolis-bell-foundry-fire

the Everett & Jones bbq people and the Salt Lick tenants have made up and are having a fire relief benefit featuring musicians affiliated with salt lick and fire victims at E&J this weekend. That one actually seems to be working itself out. I watched the press conference the E&J owner held, and it was very much like watching representatives of two significant cultures in Oakland talking past each other and saying insensitive things. Looks like it was a "teaching moment" for both groups.

considering it's the end of the year and everyone is posting lists, if I write something about my experience running an "illegal" venue in Oakland, should I format it as a list? Top 10 dick moves by the City of Oakland? idk

what about top 10 things that allowed me to keep my venue open for as long as I did?

Most of the reason for writing it is to help the efforts of those advocating for improvements to "the system" and fighting the backlash against alternative spaces. Saying "here's how I got away with it for 7 1/2 years" might be at odds with the goal.

7 1/2 years before the City gave us shit, then another 2 1/2 years trying to work with them before giving up.

why can't you advocate for change while still talking about what you had to do keep your venue open? Just my two cents, but reading about what you had to go through to keep an important venue open in spite of the system, and eventually had to submit to, would be more helpful than only reading about what's broken (which I assume would be discussed quite a lot anyway in the midst of your story running 21G)

i think it's a matter of tone and emphasis - it is possible to do both. I also don't want to sound totally self-serving.

maybe better than melatonin

http://www2.oaklandnet.com/oakca1/groups/ceda/documents/pressrelease/oak062785.pdf

pages and pages of city documents related to the ghostship warehouse that will come up as evidence in the eventual court case

Well that took forever.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9VPwt-UAAAhAvL.jpg

"Never mind the fires, it's safely whiter now!"

they've been saying this about Oakland for almost 20 years now.

wtf is that?

somewhere retarded where they still say 'frisco'

also, fail to understand what the flights to Gatwick have to do with anything preceding that bit of information.

also, unreal-beautiful lynch protoge and nu-twin peaks star Chrysta Bell apparently has moved to Oakland (and is playing a show wih david j next month) and has published this twaddle

http://bbook.com/nightlife/singer-twin-peaks-star-chrysta-bells-hip-guide-to-oakland/

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/48-hours-in/oakland-city-guide-best-restaurants-food-bars-drink-sights-shopping-san-francisco-a7647171.html

Oakland is the most raw, exciting, brutal, depressing, vibrant and inspiring place I have ever lived. The plight of existence and the will to overcome adversity is everywhere. The duality of the organic ice cream shop next door to a tent community of homeless is commonplace. There are signs of life, death, struggle, survival, compassion and courage on every block. I have been undeniably enriched and expanded by my time living here.

I would be embarrassed to the point of move-out-of-town shame if I said this aloud, let alone agreed to put it in print

I'd just wonder where else this person has lived.

yeah for real

Sarahell how long have you been in Oakland

it will be 20 years in November!

hey wow. It's strangely been over a decade for me now, hard to believe

http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/blacklisted-how-the-oakland-police-department-discriminates-against-rappers-and-music-venues/Content?oid=6482231

i was at that task force meeting, and of the 5 people of color there, 4 were representatives of City/County/State government agencies

i'm not sure what that implies

BREAKING: #GhostShip master tenant, Derick Almena, creative director, Max Harris arrested on susp. of 36 counts of involuntary manslaughter

— Evan Sernoffsky (@EvanSernoffsky) June 5, 2017

Here's the initial story

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Ghost-Ship-authorities-arrest-two-in-deadly-fire-11196787.php

Yeesh, but after everyone's various posts here, I guess I'm not surprised.

http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/07/16/huge-failure-80-percent-of-oakland-firefighter-warnings-of-unsafe-buildings-go-unchecked/

wasn't this "news" back in January?