katherine lansdowne

Where did you grow up?
All over the place! Charlotte, NC, Guam, Sherwood, OR, to name a few...

What was the first band you saw live and when?
probably Red Grammer when I was four or five, but the first real show was Saul Williams when he was touring with a full band and played at the B-Complex in Portland when I was about fifteen.

What was the first album you remember buying?
The Beatles 'Revolver' on cassette.

When did you first hear of Kill Rock Stars?
When I was living around Portland, and I had a friend who listened to Bikini Kill all the time, probably '98

How did you come to work at Kill Rock Stars?
I spent a quarter doing an internship with Portia, and that turned into some part-time work, which turned into some full-time work

What do you do at KRS?
I'm Portia's assistant. I manage guestlists and order tour merch, I answer emails and wait on hold with hp when the printer breaks.

What do you like best about your job?
that someone is always listening to interesting music in the office, no more retail muzak for me! and, there's always something new happening, I never have nightmares about monotonous work weeks

What are you listening to right now?
N.Y No Wave compilation from Ze Records, Mars' 3E is on repeat...

What are you reading right now?
Jeanette Winterson's Written on the Body. I just started it, but it's really interesting that the narrator in her novel is never given a specific gender.

What album or albums do you recommend and why?
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds "The Boatman's Call" I generally have very little patience for sentimental music, or anything resembling a ballad, but this album is just so good that I can't help myself. The first and sixth tracks are my favorites.

The Ventures "The Fabulous Ventures" Surf Music, especially instrumental, makes anything better. This is an album I can listen to at anytime, I don't have to be in the mood for it.

What website(s) do you recommend and why?
Truthfully, I don't spend a lot of time online that isn't for work, I'm kind of a techno-phobe. However, I couldn't get anywhere with hopstop.com. Also, for anyone in the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project has an incredible amount of information about the Seattle Civil Rights movement.
http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/

How do you feel about the United States Postal Service?
My heart swells with undying love and admiration, and don't listen to anyone who says differently.

When was the last time you did karaoke and why?
Three or four years ago at the Rang Dong, and shot sized jello may have been involved...

When was the last time you ate pizza, and what was on it?
About 20 mins ago, it had riccotta and an unusually large amount of garlic, lucky no one else is here to offend.

What was the last live band you saw and when?
Marnie Stern! At the Knitting Factory on July 8th, and she was great!

Who is playing soon that you are looking forward to seeing?
The Village Voice Siren festival is this weekend at Coney Island, and M.I.A. and the Black Lips are playing, I'm hopng to catch both sets.

What was the last thing you learned about that made you excited/mad/inspired?
I finally read Bell Hook's Feminist Theory: From Margin to Center all at once, at the same time as Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique, it's a great way to examine the gaps left by the theories of some traditional second-wave feminists.

What was the last class you taught/took/dropped out of?
It was called 'The Age of Irony', a 20th century American history program. The parts I attended focused on social movements (progessivism, American civil rights, second-wave feminism) and literary analysis through historical context.

"Another Country by James Baldwin is one of the best books I've ever read"

(What book would you recommend?)