grandmary and grandma

tobi vail

What is your name?
Tobi Celeste Vail

Where did you grow up?
Naselle, WA and Olympia, WA. I have also lived in Eugene, OR and Washington DC. I have spent a lot of time on tour (U.S., Europe, Australia, Japan, etc) and hanging out in California, New York City and London, England. I like to travel but I love the Pacific Northwest (my sister lives in Portland) and consider Olympia my home.

What was the first band you saw live and when?
Technically this would be Warren Zevon in 1977
the first concert that we were really excited about was the Go-Go's in 1982
the first show i went to was Rock Against Reagan in 1983
the first show i went to without my mom was the Wipers in 1983

What was the first album you remember buying?
oh this is easy, shaun cassidy 'under wraps' the first record i remember owning is 'got to be there' by michael jackson

When did you first hear of Kill Rock Stars?
when slim was talking about starting a record label to put out spoken word and then again when he decided to put out the kill rock stars s/t compilation to coincide with the International Pop Underground (IPU) festival, and then again when Bikini Kill encouraged him to start it for real and releasing our records and our (mutual) friend's records...you know, it's kind of like that LCD Soundsystem song "i was there", ha ha.

How did you come to work at Kill Rock Stars?
I was hanging out at slim's apartment, in between tours, and i started filling orders one day and then he started paying me. I think it was kind of mellow like that, although you might wanna ask him as i have a terrible memory for details. I started working here more often after Bikini Kill broke up in 1997.

What do you do at KRS?
I run the mail order store and write the weekly newsletter and brainstorm.

What do you like best about your job?
I love my job. I love filling orders I love moving boxes around I love emailing people I love it when the new records and shirts come in I love hearing from everyone everyday, I love coming up with new ways to promote our bands and trying to help figure out what we should do next and working on the shopping cart/website. Mostly i love being a part of an Underground/DIY means of distribution and getting to meet people through the mail. And I love my coworkers!

What are you listening to right now?
Today I listened to the Trucks, Marissa Magic and Yacht on myspace. Yesterday i listened to a bunch of new indie rock on Pitchfork, the Revolver Podcast and Hype Machine, trying to see what the kids are into these days, ha ha: Animal Collective, the Cribs, the Gossip listen up remix, 1990's, Mary Timony, the Blow, the Dead C......at this moment i am listening to Roky Erickson and the day before that i listened to Marnie Stern, MIA and Gang Gang Dance. ok the Roots just came on so now i'm listening to the roots. such great drumming on 'Game Theory'! Now it's Steve Reich playing piano. I really can't keep up. I will post my top iTunes regularly as this always changes.

What are you reading right now?
Making Tracks by Debbie Harry
My Antonio by Willa Cather
Thinking Class: Sketches from a Cultural Worker by Joanna Kadi
The New York Times (daily)
The Nation (weekly)
Z Magazine (monthly)
Counterpunch.org (regularly)
Bitch Magazine

What album or albums do you recommend and why?
I recommend checking out the recent Betty Davis reissues, in fact I should order them for mail order to make that easier for everyone.

What book or books do you recommend and why?
Right now, Thinking Class: Sketches from a Cultural Worker by Joanna Kadi.
For several reasons: First and foremost it's important to listen to radical Arab-American voices right now, because the political climate is so repressive and racist against Arabs. We are constantly bombarded with racist stereotypes of the "angry irrational Arab" and "sectarian violence" and "Islamo-fascists" that we all need to actively counter this by seeking out Arab-American voices. Like Edward Said, Joanna Kadi is an Arab-American Intellectual and her voice should be heard. Secondly, although maybe this should really come first, she is a brilliant thinker and writer. For a sample go here. (amazon.com) This book is about resistance, class, race, gender, sexuality, identity and fighting oppression. It's totally inspiring, down to earth and fucking amazing.

What website(s) do you recommend and why?
democracynow.org
Because this is the best way to stay informed in a time of corporate-controlled media.

How do you feel about the United States Postal Service?
They get the job done and they have a strong union! I support the postal workers.

When was the last time you did karaoke and why?
I actually have never done karoke.

What is your best story from tour (yours or anyone else's)?
hmm let me get back to you on this, as we are talking about 20 years of tours. I have never played Alaska, Florida or Wyoming. I think I have played in all the other states, but I'm not sure about Mississippi.

What is your worst story from tour (yours or anyone else's)?
ditto

When was the last time you played music live, and was it in a freeform noise band?
A few weeks ago in Seattle as the drummer for the Old Haunts

When was the last time you ate pizza, and what was on it?
The day before yesterday and it had feta and olives and spinach on it.

What was the last live band you saw and when?
C.O.C.O. a few days ago.

Who is playing soon that you are looking forward to seeing?
Joey Casio on Monday night.

What was the last thing you learned about that made you excited/mad/inspired?
A million Iraqi civilian casualties. So unbelievably horrific. What can we do to stop this madness?

What was the last class you taught/took/dropped out of?
Feminisms: From Local to Global at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA.

1972