Issue For

Welcome to Issue For! For New Haven. By New Haven. Re: New Haven Reviews, News And Views In the Elm City

Those Skinny Vegan Bitches

by Rose Morris When I bought the book Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin I did not know that the authors were hardcore vegans on a mission. The cover reads, "A no-nonsense, toughlove guide for savvy girls who want to stop eating crap and start looking fabulous!" Sounds like a diet book, right? That's how it is marketed, but if you're worried that Skinny Bitch pushes veganism as a diet fad (something you would do just to lose weight and then abandon it completely), give it a chance. I found it very informative as well as entertaining. The authors talk to you like an old friend,

swearing and joking, but still stressing the importance of veganism as a compassionate and healthy lifestyle - NOT a diet. They urge you to consider all the reasons to go vegan including health, impact on the environment, and compassion for animals. But if you just don't give a damn about any of those reasons, Skinny Bitch breaks it down to one thing - eat dairy and meat, be a bloated pig. These bitches have done their homework on nutrition as well as corruption of the USDA and FDA (some scary shit). And while the authors admit to choosing the title "Skinny Bitch" to sell books to the masses, they do not actually advocate obsessing over your weight or being a bitch, for that matter. They've done a wonderful job packing loads of information on veganism and just general healthy living into an easy-to-read, funny-ass, smart little book. I mean, c'mon, there's a whole chapter entitled "Pooping." You know you're curious. In the end, if they have not convinced you to go vegan or vegetarian (and they do a damn good job trying) you will still have learned a butt-load. Give it a go.

The best Music of past year Best place to go for live music- I would say its a tie between cafe 9 and Bar with the Peoples center coming in a close second or third to the two. Rudy's is still in competition coming in third. Cafe 9-its "the musicians living room" this is the place locals go specifically for music, there's always a show if not a couple events per day. Multiple promoters book bands and the sound is awesome (thanks Waren!). The owner, Paul, ensures that there is a steady influx of local as well as out of town musicians, he’s a friendly open guy so its really easy to book a gig. Bar Sunday Nights- Bar is hosted by Shaki Presents every Sunday night, Rick brings in bands from around the world and from around town. Plus, you can have mashed potato pizza in between bands. Oh, and Waren does sound here too so of course its perfect, but wait.....how can he be two places at one time? The Peoples Center- What I love about this place is that its all ages, sometimes drug and alcohol free, boasts a kitchen that can be utilized by the people throwing events, and is all ages. The peoples center is like a multicultural community center and allows people to book bands from all over or just to have locally oriented events free of the bullshit and hassle that can be associated with the music business. Rudy's- New Havens biggest dive, and has been saving face this past year by starting to once again cater to the locals over the Yale crowd. The sound system is limited as is the stage and floor space yet its a relatively easy place for bands to get gigs and because of that it draws a diverse range of music. The shows can be a lot of fun, and the Frites are there too....mmmmm frites. Best Up and Comers: I would have to just list off bands in this instance. I was most impressed recently with Myty Konkeror. This power duo (guitar and drums), is white stripesesque in energy, while having a grungy noisy sound with Kurt Cobainish vocals and riffs reminiscent of sonic youths later days. They’re heavy but no to the point that you feel melted. The West Rockers certainly do rock. They’re friends I grew up with but I would have to say they make me dance harder than anyone else purely for the fact that they mesh formal reggae rhythms with screaming vocals and have a more varied array of music than many bands in the area. The Simple Pleasures- two words: Rad Chains. These kids are so much fun. Their music and on

stage personas are so surreal; while off stage they are probably the nicest people you could randomly bump into. They play weird electro-synth-pop that borders soul at times. Their show is theatrical. They push buttons, wail on guitars, dance, sing, dress sharp and wear wigs. The Mountain Movers. Very aptly named. Dan Greene of the Butterflies of Love teams up with members of (the now defunct) Pencil Grass and Rick from Crooked Hook to play soulful, almost Gospel, Rock. Being a graduate of divinity school is very possibly the root of Dan's lyrics. Their songs deal with the devil, lust, and divinity mostly, and their music can warm your heart on a cold day; or possibly stab it, making you feel it, and causing the blood to warm you... regardless they are very moving and heartfelt in my opinion. Ripshit! Or Kyle is a big dork? This Hardcore Freegan/Straight Edge pack of bandits brings you what New Haven is lacking, HARDCORE PUNK ROCK! Frequently playing the Peoples center, don't miss your chance to see what hardcore is meant to be. The Hay Market Martyrs. Breakcore? A good blend of hardcore and electronic. Very energetic and aurally diverse. A great show to catch. Eula. New to me. Very abstract. indie-rock with an almost psychedelic attitude. Very out there yet structured. Great show, great energy. Nice people. My Top 3 local Albums: Mountain Movers - We Walked in Hell and There is Life After Death I listen to this at work in the morning. Check out the track: "the devil is alive". I don't actually own it but its at fuel so I claim it. Humanoid - “At BAR 8-12-07" - so worth owning and full of surprises (take apart the sleeve). This album makes you melt. Then you become a one celled organism. Then Waren becomes a plankton eating fish and has you for dinner. Murdervan- jaundice 5 stars-see issue tree.

THNX, now you can have your own opinions.

In recent years, we have seen a trend among consumers to, "Go Green". This movement has not escaped the wine industry, where green practices are beginning to take hold at more and more wineries each year. Whether this bearing is a direct result of consumer pressure, or whether it merely has to do with keeping a vineyard profitable for years to come, one thing can be agreed upon – wineries using these techniques are in a unique position to fully express terroir.

Wine Goes Green The term Organic is essentially wine from grapes grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides. Most organic winemakers also favor natural fermentation, wild yeasts as opposed to added yeasts and sugars. Many winemakers have chosen not to be "certified" organic, even though their practices may be so. This decision could be to avoid bureaucratic costs, or simply because they don't want to be seen as a niche product. The term Biodynamic refers to wines that follow Austrian anthroposophist Rudolph Steiner's teachings on organics. Steiner's vision incorporates homeopathic soil treatments and astronomical/astrological considerations into the agricultural process. Simply, biodynamic winemakers treat the soil as a living organism, essential to the total balance of the vineyard and terroir. Many biodynamic wines will offer a hint of "barnyard" on the nose that can be attributed to the soil used in the grape growing process. Sustainable wine refers to wineries that take the ecology of the vineyard into account, and try to minimize their ecological "footprint", through reduced use of chemical treatments and energy use. Organic Wine Journal affectionately refers to these producers as, "Organic unless something goes wrong". Sustainable techniques include the planting of "cover crops", usually flowering plants that not only add beauty to a vineyard, but enhance the soil as well. Adding sulfites to wine is a heavily debated topic within the organic winemaking community. Some producers favor their use, in small quantities, for the stabilization of their wines, while others try to avoid them completely. In the U.S., organic standards forbid the use of added sulfites, and wines that use them will usually be labeled, "made from organic grapes". This does not mean, however that organic wines are "sulfite-free" as sulfites occur naturally in wine. These practices, when used in viticulture, embody the current trend towards ecological self-sufficiency. Organic, biodynamic, and sustainable wines offer the consumer an ethical option that in many cases produces wines rich in character and a total representation of terroir. Ahh, terroir. Terroir essentially refers to "sense of place". It is the notion offered from some wines that give the drinker the feeling of the area where the grapes were grown. Generally this is expressed through notes of garden soil or "barnyard" on the nose, and rich vibrant fruits. The vineyard's microclimate also comes through in increased acidity and fruit flavors in colder temperatures or lower acids and higher alcohol content in hotter climates. Wineries who put the idea of "terroir" at the forefront of their winemaking are referred to as" terroirists", which must make the Bushies cringe. Many of these wines also end up being vegan. Much like scanning the ingredients on a box of cereal, vegans should look for the words, "unfined" or "unfiltered". Commercial wineries will sometimes use isinglass or egg albumen to drop the must (stems, seeds, skins) and filtering the wine. Unfiltered wines may sometimes have small particles or sediment in them, but there is generally no danger in this. Queasier types may use a

tea strainer or similar item to strain the wine into a decanter before drinking. Careful pouring will also allow one to avoid the sediment. note: Vegans should try to avoid the mass produced wines that tend to be on internet "lists" as vegan safe. Many of these wines may be filtered one year and unfiltered the next. As we begin to incorporate environmentally friendly practices into our everyday lifestyles, we now also have an option to toast ourselves with! Cheers! ElmCityWino www.elmcitywino.com Some suggestions... California Big House Wines – Red, White, Pink, and "Slammer" Syrah – $10-12 – S Coturri – Carignane, Zinfandel, Albarello – $20-30 – O/B/S/V Dynamite – Cabernet, Merlot – $13-20 – S Kunde Estate – many – $18-70 – S (some O/B) Moon Mountain – Cabernet, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc – $13-17 – O/S/V Newton – Cabernet, Unfiltered Chardonnay – $25-55 – V Pacific Rim – Riesling, Muscat (dessert wine) – $10-19 – O/S/V Red Truck – Petite Syrah – $10-12 – O/V White Truck – Sauvignon Blanc – $10-12 – O/V Argentina Bodega Colome – Torrontes, Malbec – $14-30 – O/B/S/V Australia Peter Lehmann – Shiraz, Clancy's, Semillon – $12-17 – V France Jean Paul Brun – Cotes de Brouilly, Chardonnay – $13-15 – O/B/S/V Clos de Roillette – Fleurie – $18-20 – O/B/S/V Thierry Puzelat – "In Cot We Trust" Malbec, Pinot Noir – $20-25 – O/B/S/V Chateau D'Oupia – Minervois, Les Heritiques – $8-12 – O/B/S/V Italy Ulivi – Gavi – $15-20 – O/B/S/V Coltibuono – many – $10 and up – O/S Montesecondo – Rosso, Chianti – $15-22 – O/S/V Spain Vizcarra – "JC" – $22 – S New Zealand Selak's – Ice Wine – $20 – O/S/V

Garbage Pail Kids

By Kamakazi

I don’t know exactly when I ate my first meal out of the trash; it mainly started when I learned that a local store in a cleverly, french, named chain was throwing away huge bags of bread, bagels, and assorted pastries and muffins . I remember never being able to finish a sandwich when I was younger, something about those last couple bites repelling me, causing me to lob the projectile end into the trash as almost a daily eating ritual; who would think that years later I would be digging in dumpsters and hunting for the bread and scraps restaurants tossed out every night. At some point in my life, when I came detached from my sheltered and somehow privileged yet poor and unresourceful youth, it dawned on me that a lot of good food was going to waste and that rather than be a consumer all the time that I might benefit and even provide for others if I could secure a few sources of wasted food. So my friends and I, who were all borderline street kids, lived off of the bread and bagels we could scrounge up; other friends who were working at local grocery stores would hijack peanut butter and earth balance or we would buy generic cream cheese. We were broke, but we were full. For a while I strayed, started eating out a lot, got a credit card, moved around. Then I found myself broke and lost on an island in the pacific, I learned that the salvation army would provide food. Some of the homeless population I met through sally’s and the streets turned me on to the dumpsters at the local supermarket, they tossed lots of prepared food daily. I also learned to ask the cruise ships and friends who worked at restaurants for excess food; hell, the tourists would even buy me meals for sending them in the right direction. I relearned to live off of nothing. I came back home....but I was really homeless.

A girl I knew from college told me to stay with her for a while. That got twisted pretty quick. A good friend of mine had gained access to a building with electricity and plenty of room for us to squat and to party, play music, and make art. I had camped out here and there for a couple weeks at a time, but this was different, we were living in a dilapidated building with no running water and cats and god knows what crawling around at night. Not to mention we weren’t in the best neighborhood to be stumbling back to our squat all hours of the night. But it was awesome, I held a job, and I didn’t pay rent, and I still showered at my friends houses for those couple months problem free, until I started dating the girl I had previously stayed with and I moved back in there. FUCK! So it didn’t work out again, and we had been living off of her parents and her job. Now I was unemployed and sleeping on a friends couch.... I was hungry and I could barely find enough work to eat a meal once a day. We started to get bread from a restaurant I had worked at that got all vegan bread from a local bakery. At the end of the night all the hungry people, even Yale students who over stepped their budget would all gather round and pick through the bags of bread. Some nights we would bring a whole garbage bag home and freeze what we didn’t eat right away. My friends and I would live off of communal bread and peanut butter like we had in previous years. My friends lease ran out, we squatted my squat but the owner of the building caught us so we moved on. We slept in the park, and in vacant apartments. Eventually I moved in with some friends but we still pooled our resources to break bread. Months went by, I went vegan, I started buying locally grown vegetables mainly. I changed my lifestyle drastically, work was steady, I sobered up, and I could eat!!!! Then the growing season ended and some new friends and I became even more dumpster minded. One friend knew a couple locations for wasted food, now we were stocking our fridges with recently expired smoothies, veggies, and fruits and our cabinets with bread and pitas. We’ve been slacking lately but there’s still plenty of stuff to score and not just food, find out if the places you participate as a consumer at have dumpsters and jump on in! -NAMASTE, KamakaziOner

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Groovski What the hell is this guy singing about? Is this English? Polish? It doesn’t matter when Groovski is making post-punk music sound this fresh. The four tracks posted to www.myspace.com/groovski3 borrow from the Buzzcocks, Guided By Voices, and early-Wedding Present. Yet, while frontman, and ex-Human Pontiac, Adam Malec may not display the effortless songcraft of a guy like Robert Pollard, that doesn’t seem to be the point. He may owe something to Pollard, but where Malec strikes out on his own is in his band’s delivery—he takes Pollard’s boozy glee and turns it razor sharp. These densely-packed tunes, which all clock in at around three and a half minutes or less, feature solid, straight-forward 4/4 drum beats and subtle variations on simple chord progressions, but the interplay between the chiming, distorted guitars (the well-placed eerie-sounding overdubs are a huge bonus), and snaking bass lines make them deceptively complex and shine brightly. Add into the mix the pleasant contrast of Malec’s monotone vocals backed by guitarist Leslie Bleattau’s ringing harmonies, and you’ve got something well-worth having on your mp3 player. And, yes, in case you were wondering, one of the four tracks is sung in Polish….another bonus for this reviewer. --Stephen Dobish Groovski’s self-titled LP is also available at CDbaby.com.

ReNew Haven would like to thank all the locals that are contributing their time and material to keeping this zine and our community alive! a huge thanks to everyone who has picked up a copy of the zine and shared it with their friends!!!! you can find us online on myspace and download past issues through pdfcoke.com! thanks to all the local promoter, especially safety meeting records and shaki presents for keeping the music scene live in the elm!- check them out on myspace as well as new haven music for a complete listing of local musical events. thanks to cafe nine, the peoples center, and bar for providing us with great venues and great shows every week. we are always seeking more artists, writers, and any new minds that want to join in. send any inquiries or material to [email protected] ReNew Haven is an open channel for ideas, images, information, and inspiration to be shared freely within the elm city community.