Let's talk about...racism in roller derby!

This may not sound like your idea of a good time, but the thing is, it's very necessary. This episode is largely directed at our fellow white folks within the sport, but may be interesting and/or useful to anyone looking to build a better roller derby (and world). This is just the start of a conversation, by the way, as we look to bring in more diverse voices and ideas to the podcast, in the service of 1) white folks doing real, intentional, anti-racist work within their teams, leagues, and communities, and 2) all of us becoming better friends, humans, advocates, etc. in the effort to dismantle all of the nasty isms that plague our society.

Easy peasy, right? ;)

We aimed to make this episode chalk-full of real life, accessible resources for anyone looking to educate themselves and/or their leagues, too. Below the timestamps, you'll find a list of handy dandy links, book titles, and more to dig into (and that are referenced in the episode).

We also open and close the show with some fun WFTDA Champs news and speculation, what's making us happy this week, where the heck we've been this year, and more.

As always, if you have questions, comments, or constructive criticism for us (we ain't perfect) please holler via email or social medias: [email protected] / Twitter / Facebook.

EPISODE 6 TIMESTAMPS:

• 00:00 Intro

EPISODE 6 RESOURCES:

Listen to Podcasts:

• Uncivil Podcast

Off the Track (Mick Swagger): http://www.wispsports.com/listen/off-the-track

• Oppression In Roller Derby

https://www.facebook.com/teamindigenousrollerderby/

https://www.instagram.com/teamindigenousrollerderby/

Interviews to listen to: https://www.wnyc.org/story/reading-reckoning-ijeoma-oluo/

https://www.wnyc.org/story/guidebook-talking-about-race/

Watch: "5 ways to be an Ally": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dg86g-QlM0

Further reading:

• What it really means to "check your privilege"

Ermagergh, berks!

In-depth look at how the post-Civil War period shaped modern race relations and racist narratives in America: “Race and Reunion” by David W. Blight

"So You Want To Talk About Race" by Ijeoma Oluo (a great primer for white folks especially)

"The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" by Michelle Alexander

"Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race" by Reni Eddo-Lodge

---

An incomplete index of things Ham mispronounced or slurred her way thru in this episode:

• "Dragon burlesque show" (aka "drag and burlesque show, but now we kind of want to see an actual dragon burlesque show)

Greetings, roby doby fans! It's been...well, it's been too long. Ham and Gator extend our sincere and humble apologies for the extended break between episodes. It's been a really busy spring and summer! Lots of travel (much of it derby related), big life changes and challenges, and also our local radio station got shot up (that didn't actually impact our recording there, but we want to shout them out/show our support for weathering such a terrible and ridiculous situation).

We're back in the saddle with a sorta-kinda full episode, though, and are hard at work at getting back on a regular schedule for more content, updates, etc. - once Gator gets back from announcing at the North American Cup in Kalamazoo, Michigan this weekend! We hope you've got your watch passes, or you'll miss her dulcet tones on the mic (and a whole bunch of other great commentators)....

All that said, we've got a really fantastic and insightful long-form interview for you today with one of our all-time derby sheros/mentors/lady-bros, VAL CAPONE.

She's responsible for getting both of us on the mic, frankly. She's also got an extensive history and present in the sport, fun insights into various aspects of it, and is generally just good people.

Val and Gator sat down to chat way back in January, so our apologies again for taking so damn long to get this out there. You can look forward to conversations about the benefits of playing different rule sets, man derbs, the importance of TAKING BREAKS, sportsing with invisible diseases, why Journey sucks, and a whole lot more.

PLUS we're stoked to include a track from Swedish-based punk band Alison Blaire, courtesy of Twin Freaks with Norrköping Roller Derby.

All that and more in thelatest episode! Don't forget to like/follow/etc us on the socials (reviews very much appreciated), and you can always reach out with your own musical projects, other ideas or suggestions, and support us with tips.

TIMESTAMPS

Intro = 00:00 

Val Capone interview = 2:20

Damsel Trash & Alison Blaire music = 1:05:23

Outro = 1:09:00

Greetings, roby doby fans! It's been...well, it's been too long. Ham and Gator extend our sincere and humble apologies for the extended break between episodes. It's been a really busy spring and summer! Lots of travel (much of it derby related), big life changes and challenges, and also our local radio station got shot up (that didn't actually impact our recording there, but we want to shout them out/show our support for weathering such a terrible and ridiculous situation).

We're back in the saddle with a sorta-kinda full episode, though, and are hard at work at getting back on a regular schedule for more content, updates, etc. - once Gator gets back from announcing at the North American Cup in Kalamazoo, Michigan this weekend! We hope you've got your watch passes, or you'll miss her dulcet tones on the mic (and a whole bunch of other great commentators)....

All that said, we've got a really fantastic and insightful long-form interview for you today with one of our all-time derby sheros/mentors/lady-bros, VAL CAPONE.

She's responsible for getting both of us on the mic, frankly. She's also got an extensive history and present in the sport, fun insights into various aspects of it, and is generally just good people.

Val and Gator sat down to chat way back in January, so our apologies again for taking so damn long to get this out there. You can look forward to conversations about the benefits of playing different rule sets, man derbs, the importance of TAKING BREAKS, sportsing with invisible diseases, why Journey sucks, and a whole lot more.

PLUS we're stoked to include a track from Swedish-based punk band Alison Blaire, courtesy of Twin Freaks with Norrköping Roller Derby.

All that and more in thelatest episode! Don't forget to like/follow/etc us on the socials (reviews very much appreciated), and you can always reach out with your own musical projects, other ideas or suggestions, and support us with tips.

TIMESTAMPS

Intro = 00:00 

Val Capone interview = 2:20

Damsel Trash & Alison Blaire music = 1:05:23

Outro = 1:09:00

Happy 2018! In our first episode of the year, we give you a Team Announcer-centric recap of the Roller Derby World Cup in Manchester, England (hosted by the fantastic Rainy City Roller Derby). Hammer had the good fortune to make the trip to announce the world's biggest derby blowout and tells us all about it in an interview with Allie.

Ham also had the chance to take a side trip to Dublin after the festivities were over and enjoyed some whiskey and conversation with Dublin Roller Derby coach extraordinare, Violent Bob. They talk the history of the league, derby in Ireland, and Bob's love of the Green Bay Packers, among other things. Fans of the TV show "Father Ted" will especially appreciate DRD's home team names. ;)

We also feature an ADORABLE interview with Diamond Rough (of MNRG) and Chad (of the Aquaman Army) about their story of derby love. We're taking written and recorded submissions for this as an ongoing feature, too! If YOU have a story of derby love - any and all kinds, in any form - and want us to feature it on an episode, please do drop us a line at [email protected].

Speaking of awesome listener submitted content, we're thrilled to include a song from the Icelandic hardcore feminist thrash band Dauðyflin. Check 'em out on Bandcamp (and buy their music!), and in these write-ups from Pitchfork. Two of the members are affiliated with Team Iceland. The lead singer, who goes by Grim Creeper, plays for the Roller Derby Iceland travel team, Ragnarök. Many thanks to her sister, Bitchblade, for making the submission!

SHOW ORDER/TIME STAMPS:

• 00:00 Intro and World Cup interview

SHOUT-OUTS to:

• Rowy of Rainy City for Ham's homestay

MUSIC in this episode by:

• Damsel Trash (our theme song and Ham's own band)

WORT FM gives us studio time to record a lot of this podcast, and we love them.

GIVE US YOUR MONEY

Oh hey, we've set up a way to help crowdfund this here podcast. If you've got some scratch to spare, we would be enormously grateful for any and all support. Can be as little as $1 a month. It'll help us buy our own recording equipment, cover travel costs, and other incidentals that help us keep on with this project.

https://patron.podbean.com/ssrollerderby

As always, too, we love recommendations, referals, music, critique, etc. Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, or via email ([email protected]) at any time! Please also subscribe to us here on Podbean, iTunes, or the Stitcher mobile app (and leave a review or rating!).

xoxo,

-Allie & Ham

History! WFTDA Champs! Songs! Fan sections! Transphobia out of derby! Finding your bliss!

All this and more await you in the latest episode of the Something Something Roller Derby podcast. We were both thrilled to be part of the announcing crew at the 2017 WFTDA D1 International Championships in Philadelphia, PA. We were also thrilled that it presented the opportunity to sit down with an interview with longtime Texie and actual co-founder of this sport we call modern roller derby, Electra Blu! She's responsible for the design dimensions of the very track upon which we skate, don't ya know? Electra talks the nitty gritty origins of the game, some delightful anecdotes from the bad old days, and what keeps her coming back for more even long after her skating career came to a close.

Ham and Allie dig into a recent example of the transphobia that still exists in parts of the derby world, and talk about why those attitudes have no place anywhere, let alone within a sport and community that was founded specifically to be a home for marginalized and outcast people.

Finally, we had a delightful and often hilarious conversation with two of the core members of the Aquaman Army - Minnesota Rollergirls' very own fan section, famous for their hymnal of cheers, wearing masks, and full body/facepaint situation. They talk about what makes a good fan section, why they do what they do, and what they all love about derby.

Oh and, we're including a new section where we talk about what's making us happy these days, specific to derby. Positive affirmations! I mean, if you're not finding joy in something, why continue to do it?

As always, we would love for you to hit "follow" and "subscribe" on all our various social media and web homes (we are in iTunes here), leave reviews wherever and whenever possible, and hit us up with comments, suggestions, questions, and more at [email protected], or on Facebook and Twitter.

SPECIAL THANKS

We used (with permission) the song "Synthesizer 2.0" by Klack in this episode. Check out more of their tunes at their Bandcamp.

Theme song and other interstitial music by Ham's band, Damsel Trash.

Twitch (aka Kevin Borke) hooked us up with microphones to record interviews at WFTDA Champs. He makes a lot of those great videos you see on WFTDA.tv and such.

WORT FM gives us studio time to record a lot of this podcast, and we love them.

SHOW ORDER/TIME STAMPS:

Intro

12:17 Electra Blu interview

33:05 Transphobia in roller derby

52:45 Aquaman Army interview

1:26:15 Find your bliss / outro

HAPPY FALL! The S.S. Roller Derby is settin' sail a little early this month, because we're just THAT excited to share the new episode with you all. Plus! We found ourselves a proper recording studio, so things are sounding a lot better aboard this ship, if we do say so ourselves.

Join us for an exciting romp through Zebra Land as we interview Uno Mas and Thac0, both longstanding members of Madison's own United Derby Officials Local 608 (UDO), as we chat about all things ref and officials and Why UDO Is So Great/how you too can build a stronger, awesomer officiating crew.

Hammer and Allie also give you an EXCLUSIVE on the big names slated to appear/coach/captain at Summer Affair 2018 in Cleveland, Ohio (right around the 44:45 mark, if you're impatient and need to know RIGHT NOW). Will we see you there?

We're also pleased as punch to bring you the first musical feature of the show, as we share a song by the Sex Wings - all Minnesota Roller Derby folk. You can listen to more of their music here. Many thanks to Bully Jean for submitting the song - and remember, if you have a musical project of any sort, are involved in derby, and would like us to feature you on a future episode, drop us a line at [email protected]!

Finally, we chat a bit about WFTDA Champs 2017 (we'll both be doing announcing work at the event), the amazing announcing crew working that weekend, and a few other odds n' ends. As always, we hope you enjoy!

Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Hit us up on Facebook, Twitter, and/or by email at [email protected] at any time. And give us some love (reviews!) over at iTunes while you're at it, if you feel so moved.

Thanks!

-Ham & Gator

SHOW ORDER/TIME STAMPS:

(title and transition music by Damsel Trash)

Welcome to our brand new roller derby podcast! Your hosts (Hammer Abby and Allie Gator) are super excited to bring this project to life, and we hope you'll enjoy it, maybe learn a few things, tell your friends, and keep listening.

In this episode, we 1) introduce ourselves and talk a bit about our own skating backgrounds, as well as hopes and dreams for the future of this podcast, 2) dig into RollerCon 2017 and its highlights, 3) give a little advice for dealing with the skating struggle, and 4) *interview longtime skater Mouse about her background, and some of the interesting history of the wild and wooly early days of WFTDA roller derby.

*We hope you'll forgive a little audio trouble we had with Mouse's interview. There is some distortion where her microphone clipped, and we PROMISE we'll have that issue fixed for future episodes. We hope it doesn't impede your enjoyment of her really stellar interview too much! Thanks for being patient as we get our podcast sea legs under us.

As always, if you have comments, compliments, questions, and/or have music you'd like to submit for us to consider for inclusion on future podcasts, hit us up at [email protected].

We're online at Facebook and Twitter, too! And Hammer has a Tumblr.

Supplementary links from this episode:

• Damsel Trash (Hammer's band, theme song)

Donate to help Niala with her medical expenses!

Assistance can be sent to Naila directly through PayPal as "Goods & Services" to: [email protected]

https://www.paypal.me/NailaGarciaPUEBLA