It's been five years since something great appeared in the small, but beautiful town of Palmer, Massachusettes. This would no doubt be The Old Store/Shed. Collectivly, it's been around for five wonderful years! Seat Seven had the chance to interveiw them in person, but for unspecified reasons we ended up doing the interveiw via electronic mail. In this interveiw we hear from Mike Swiatlowski (mike) and Jon Boilard (jp) who have graciously given their time to answer our questions.
What are some of the most memorable moments of the shed/oldstore?:
jp: Althought each show has its own special moments, a few stick out- the crypt kickers ho down, FDR+Newharmful @(any of)the oldstore shows. Memorial day 2000, show #8 (at the shed) with all of the rain and so on, the first july 4th show, the badd ass bromp treb show, halloween 2002, and the first show of 2003 (where I was 5 minutes late and 60 kids were already there and it was sleeting like crazy.) [Also add the] last shed show of 2002 to one of my favorite moments ever. That was fucking amazing!!!!
What was the worst thing that ever happened?:
jp: Show #6 with USA is a monster. SHOWS OVER! GO HOME!
In 5 more years where do you see yourselves? How about the collective?:
jp: In five years from now, I hope to be finishing up school. At that point I will be teaching music and either starting to teach english/working somehow/somewhere with design(ing) or playing in a big ass orchestra someplace fancy (Boston/Italy?) The collective:Hopefully this whole thing is something that is passed on from generation to generation (thinking in terms of the folks in their late teens/early 20s organizing things and influencing the younger cats). If anything we have done in the past 5 years has suggested anything, it is that DIY can make just about anything happen, and with endless positive results, and anyone has the capability/means to do it.
mike: I'm not sure and I'd rather not pin anything down or commit me or anyone else to anything. I'd like to think we would still be involved with punk in someway and somewhere. I know The Shed won't be here forever (just as The Old Store wasn't going to last forever). I'd also like to think the torch would be passed, not that we are specifically going anywhere but that this whole thing we're doing should have some movement and life to it.
Do you plan on moving the shed somewhere else sometime soon?:
jp: For me personally, the shed only has one season left after the cureent 2003 season. In the summer of 2005 I have a big old summer long trip planned as a last hurrah before adult hood. But I only see one season left mainly because I will be entering the last phase of schooling (and it will be very time consuming) and for all I know, it may be far from palmer. :(
The Old Store was lost once before, but it wasn't permanent. Why was it a different situation?:
mike: I'm assuming you are talking about how in Sept of 1999 we really thought that the Beanie Baby Store (those shady business people operating next door to The Old Store) were going to buy out the space that we were using. To us, it seemed like a done deal -- they wanted the place and went to the bank for the loan. For whatever reason, they pulled out and never ended up moving at all; I don't know much more specifics than that. We just built up alot of hype and sympathy because everyone thought we were done for. We started doing shows again about five months after the smoke cleared.
What's the story behind losing it this time?:
mike: The story is that someone bought the building. I say this everytime it's mentioned, but we really only planned on doing ONE show. We knew that the space was up for rent, and that we could really lose it at anytime. It was really hard to see it go, but after almost 3 years there, no one could complain -- We did 39 shows and a couple great film screenings. Kids kept coming to the shows and the bands seemed to like it, the same continues for The Shed.
If any band could play at the shed of your choice, who would you want to play and why?:
jp: (dead and gone)The shaggs, Pussy Galore, Polvo & Queen. (a little more realistic) Shellac, Q and not U, Atom and his package, the microphones, converge, Of Montreal etc. The dead and gone groups, because they would be perfect for the shed. (Minimalism mixed with low standards making great musics!) The (not so) realistic groups because they would be great to have contained in a small space like the shed.
Who played at The Old Store and went on to become well-known?:
mike: Hmmm... I guess well-known is a relative term. The biggest household name (I hate to say) is NEW FOUND GLORY -- who opened for HE IS AN ASTRONAUT (a theatrical play-of-sorts involving alot of local kids and ending with Rob Francisco in Joe Pereria's pants). We all laugh everytime we think of that show. Actually, I don't really know if anyone can honestly say anything memorable about their set at all. At the time they were sort of unknown and generic, now they are just well-known.
Other well-known bands were ATOM & HIS PACKAGE, CONVERGE, KILL HOLIDAY, FURIOUS GEORGE, SHOWCASE SHOWDOWN, THE MARSHES, FASTBREAK, and XBXRX. Honestly though, there were more bands both locally and from afar that should have gone on to be more popular.
Any new creative activities in store?:
jp: Mike and I are working on a booklet about the shed. Its a summary of the things that have happend so far, and contains a few pictures and each show flyer made into a pocket sized miniature. Other than that, I would really like to put together a 5 volume set of cds with bands that have played theshed/oldstore/local groups/groups that help compliment/define what we have been doing for 5 years. It would function on many levels, but mainly it would be an attempt to get really excellent bands traded about and passed on to new ears (for example a band comes to palmer and leaves with a compilation and spreads the info to friends back home etc). And if anything, it would serve as a documentation of all that has happend and went on in the area.
How was your expirience with radio [ref. this aint no picnic]?:
jp: I did not get to experience "this aint no picnic", but I do plan on doing something similar @ HCC [Holyoke Community College] radio (maybe even just moving that show there?) essentailly putting an emphasis on local musics and happenings.
Any idea on when it's going to come back? (or even if it will?) Any idea when and where?:
mike: When what will come back?... do you mean The Old Store? From the minute The Old Store ended up until about a year ago, Matt, Krista, and I wrote plenty of letters and visited anyone who had some empty or for-rent space in Palmer. It's incredibly hard to convince anyone who doesn't understand what goes on to agree to rent something very cheaply to us (and nevermind how hard it would be to actually come up with a couple hundred dollars a month for rent). Imagine trying to explain to someone in Palmer that you want to do this thing with "kids" and "bands". You can butter it up anyway you want by saying "youth" and "community" and "culture" but they just think "kids running into each other and lots of noise". Also, with the disaster in Rhode Island, everyone is just that more on edge. I don't fault them, it's just too bad.
Actually, I pretty much finished searching for a spot a year ago. If something was really handed to us, I think we might consider it, but only because of the weather problem we sometimes have. I'm completely happy with The Shed. Every so often people will come up to me and say "When can you get a new Old Store?" or "I wish the Store was still around" etc. It's all part of that back-in-the-day bullshit nostalgia. Eveything is so much better in restropect. Many of The Shed shows have been just as good as any of the good shows at The Old Store. I'm sure when The Shed is eventually over, people will like and appreciate it much more, which is really sad because its' right here for us now. Think of all the times that place has been bouncing... literally almost falling apart.
When you started The Old Store, did you think 5 years later it would still be around?:
mike: I absolutely had no idea what we were getting into, none of us did. We ate pizza one day and joked about how funny it would be to have our own show in Palmer. We really didn't know if we could convince The Westies to play...
Any more field trips in store?:
jp: the Quabbin, mass moca, the moon.
How do you feel this has affected the community?:
jp: Hopefully it has made it aware that young folks are capable of doing a great deal and that they geninely care about their community and the world around them. Hopefully it has introduced new ideas and friends and things to build off of. Above all, hopefully it inspired/inspires someone.
What would you like to see happen with this?:
jp: I would really like to see more folks doing the same thing after the shed is gone. hopefully the oldstore gets a space. Hopefully ideas can continue to flow and people continue to gather.
