Loud! Fast! Philly!

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews the Rev. Kirk T. Berlenbach of Saint Timothy’s Episcopal Church Roxborough. Father Kirk grew up in Haddonfield, NJ. His father was a priest and he always loved being a part of the church. Moving through his teenage years, Father Kirk was drawn to rock, prog (!), punk, and gothic music. He had a desire to spread the word of Christ, but found different avenues from which to approach his faith and alternate means — at times outrageous — of expressing it. In this wide-ranging discussion, matters of both faith and social justice are discussed. Father Kirk has been outspoken in his support of LGBT rights, his opposition to the demonization of immigrants (and the xenophobic propositions to keep them out with giant walls and bigoted laws), demagoguery, the proliferation of guns and gun violence, economic inequality, and other hot-button (but essential) social issues facing our times. Pushing against cynicism and the despair and fatigue that comes after each successive mass shooting or terrorist attack, Father Kirk remains a champion of the worth of individual humans and the solace — and call to arms — that the troubled can find in the words of Jesus Christ. In a world of no easy answers, a compassionate voice is the first in a rising chorus.

Joseph A. Gervasi interviews Larry Livermore, formerly of Lookout Records and author of the book How To Ru(i)n A Label (Don Giovanni Records, 2015).

Since Larry’s book covers the story of his involvement (and de-volvement) with Lookout Records so well, we only talk about the label a bit in this lengthy interview. Instead we focus on other aspects of Larry’s life, like growing up working class in Detroit, his estrangement from his family, the consumption and sale of psychedelic drugs, living in Northern California, MaximumRockNRoll, the punk scene’s sometimes self-destructive disdain for success and embrace of obscurity and failure, and being involved in a record label that meant a lot to countless people. We talk about how we came to know one another in a story about my stay at a hippie religious commune in the early 1990s. The Martin Sprouse edited book Threat By Example (Pressure Drop Press, 1989) is discussed along with Larry’s essay in it. The discussion doesn’t shy away from sensitive subjects such as suicide, love, and loneliness. All told, even those who’ve read Larry’s columns and books (and possibly attending one of his speaking engagements) will find much to enjoy in this interview.

As I note at the start of the interview (and as is the case with a few other interviews in the project), Larry is not a “Philly person” (though he told a terrific Philly story when he gave his speaking engagement shortly after this interview was conducted). Larry’s writing, bands (The Lookouts, The Potato Men), the Gilman Street Project/924 Gilman, and records he released through Lookout Records had an impact on participants in the Philly scene (myself included).