Jams for Man

Ananda Burke just got back from Punk Rock Holiday in Slovenia, part of his first-ever European tour with his band Head Honcho. However, thirty years before that, he played guitar in the band Doubt at Jam for Man, DC Space, and parties around Reston. Ananda learned important lessons from the music scene in Northern Virginia that he shares with us here and takes with him as he works on the next album with his band. For more recordings and information on Head Honcho, go to: https://headhonchomusic.bandcamp.com/

Carter Blitch got a subscription to Thrasher magazine for his twelfth birthday, and the first issue he received had a feature on the band JFA. Little did he know that years later, he would become the drummer for this very band, skating and playing punk rock with them across Europe and the U.S. Carter had come a long way from his first band, the Golden Beat, named for his children's drum set, and Knothead, his Reston hardcore band that played at Jam for Man. In addition, Carter recorded out West with bands such as One Shot Kill, Mob 40's, Love Canal, and Childhood, Inc. You can find more information about his band JFA and their tour schedule at http://www.jfamusic.com/

Steve Bidwell has lived in West Virginia, Ghana, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, New York, and Austin, and adding to his drum repertoire, which includes playing with The Calm Blue Sea, Hard Proof, Brownout, and Black Pumas. Steve can play anything and everything on drums, from afrobeat and go-go, to dixieland jazz and western swing, making him in demand as a session musician and touring drummer. However, he got his start in Reston, VA, and credits the multitude of record stores, high school music instructor Jeff Fraker, and Jam for Man as some of the inspirations for his life in music, and will fight to the death anybody that doesn't recognize Fugazi as one of the most important bands of all time.

Mike Walker, born and raised in Alexandria, VA, and the son of two amateur-musician parents, trained to play classical piano and church organ but instead went on to acclaim as the US DMC champion in 2006. This episode features some of his epic DJ battles as well as his jam session with legendary turntablist, DJ Qbert. Not to be pigeonholed, Mike also talks about his time in church choir, neighborhood musicals, battle of the bands, creating computer-programmed tracker music, gamelan ensemble, live college radio drum n bass mixes, Atlanta strip club hip-hop deejaying, all-night fusion sessions, being a founding member of the Kobra Kai, and more!

Jerry Barrett moved to Reston from Seattle and found a toehold in the Northern Virginia music scene in Guitar Lab at South Lakes. He formed a high school band and played some shows, but became a professional musician when he dropped out to tour, opening for Wrathchild America. This launched a career in music that led him to play with the likes of HR from Bad Brains, Dave Byers, and Corrosion of Conformity Blind. His Reston hardcore credentials are unmatched, having played bass in L.D.Kids, BSR, Pitbull 1999, recorded with Evenout, and reunited with Mike Munoz and Craig Harmison to form Wrong House. He comes from a very musical family, his mother a classically-trained pianist and his brother a sound technician extraordinaire. He even got married on a Motörhead cruise. This guy lives and breathes music and has lived in Reston for more than thirty years! His music is widely available at: http://www.pitbull1999.com/ and https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/wrongfuckinghouse

Serge grew up in Vienna, one of three brown kids in his classes, learning to distrust the hypocrisy of the system and preparing to destroy it from behind enemy lines. He found his true calling at shows in the old 9:30 Club and the Reston hardcore scene. After a brief stint in art school in Richmond, he returned to form the Goons, and performed with that band for over a decade, playing shows with all the bands he loved from the punk compilations he grew up listening to. For more information on Serge or his various bands go to:

http://www.thegoons.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pg/thegoonsdc/about/

https://bridge9.bandcamp.com/album/nervous-impulse

Matt Kozlowski grabbed a bass from his dad and teamed up with his best friend to start one of the first Reston hardcore bands in 1986. After becoming obsessed with DC groups like Dag Nasty and Rites of Spring, they added a singer with a scream like one of his heroes, Ian MacKaye, and a guitarist more familiar with classic rock than punk. One of the first songs they wrote featured the band’s name, Hostile Environment, and became a staple of their sets. Along with L.D.Kids, they played every legendary party in Reston at the time, and inspired other bands to form and create the scene that gave birth to Jam for Man.

Spookey Ruben grew up in Germany and the Netherlands, listening to thrash metal demo tapes from America. He moved to Reston as a young teen and experienced the culture shock of trying to assimilate into the punk and hardcore scene there and in DC that he’d only read about in magazines. It was at this time that he received his nickname "Spooky", a result of his high-school friends teasing him about his appearance with his long hair and Satanic T-shirts. He formed the prog-hardcore band Transilience and was one of the first bands in Reston to record his own professional demo at Inner Ear and receive attention from major labels. He has gone on to international acclaim, which we will discuss in part two of this interview, but has never forgotten his roots of playing at Jam for Man and being an important part of the Reston music scene. You can more information about Spookey and his upcoming shows at: http://www.spookeyruben.net/ or find his recordings with Transilience at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGQEGPxoy59LW5dr6AIsmJreu8vtW6-7f

Brien Stewart formed AVAIL in 1988 with Joe Banks, Doug Crosby, and Mikey Warstler. He and his bandmates had the idea to put on a concert featuring bands from the burgeoning local scene, and with the support of his bandmate’s mom, Patty Warstler--who ran the local Youth Club--put on the first Jam for Man concert. After the band moved to Richmond in 1990 and his good friend, Andy Wells, died tragically in a drunk-driving accident, Brien left the band. He went on to play in many memorable bands from the Reston hardcore scene, including L.D.K. (Learning Disabled Kids), BSR (Basic Skills Review), and Lickity Split. He has been recording with Ruin By Design since 2015 and they are putting the finishing touches on a new album this summer. You can find Brien’s music with AVAIL at: https://brienstewart.bandcamp.com/album/avail-each-other-1988-1990 and Ruin by Design here: https://ruinbydesign.bandcamp.com/