9-24-20 Emerald Media - Weekend Guide

SEPT. 24, 2020

Weekend Guide

Emerald Media

MEMORABLE BUT NOT HONORABLE

POP-PUNK AT A LOCAL CASSETTE LABEL

COVER: EUGENE-BASED CASSETTE LABEL TAKING OFF DURING THE PANDEMIC P. 3

OPINION: WE NEED TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS P. 4

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ON THE COVER

Weintraub didn’t start his record label with the intention of making a profit, but rather to help music listeners to return to a more tangible way of consuming music. Henry Weintraub runs a local cassette label, Memorable But Not Honorable, out of his home in Eugene.

(Will Geschke/Emerald)

THE POP-PUNK CASSETTE LABEL THAT SPRUNG UP DURING A PANDEMIC

BY LUCAS WARNER Weintraub enjoys cassettes because of their affordablity and collectablity. Henry Weintraub runs a local cassette label, Memorable But Not Honorable, out of his home in Eugene. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

Henry Weintraub has always loved cassettes. Collecting physical copies of music has been on the rise, with vinyl and cassette sales climbing in recent years, according to BuzzAngle Music reports.

Weintraub wants to help those numbers grow.

“It’s kind of the forgotten medium,” he said.

That’s why Weintraub is trying to bring cassettes back into style with his local cassette label, Memorable But Not Honorable. As well as being a passion project, the label is an affordable way he can make and keep music. A cassette on his Bandcamp website is $8, while a CD or record can range from $12 to $40 at a local record shop.

Weintraub’s affinity for cassettes came early in his life. The first album he ever owned was on cassette, and his collecting of physical copies of music began from there. Now he has over 100 tapes and wants to pass on his love for collecting tapes by making his own business.

“People forgot about tapes,” Weintraub said. “Maybe it’s because one day we were told that CDs were better, which isn’t necessarily true.”

The COVID-19 pandemic inspired Weintraub to begin the label. With the virus’ spread forcing people indoors, he started to see bands performing live online. He later reached out to these bands, including Teflon Dave and Billy Putz and asked if they wanted to record a cassette.

Now Memorable But Not Honorable has a scheduled monthly cassette release for the rest of the year.

“I don’t know if it’s a nostalgia thing that makes it appealing or actually having a physical copy,” Weintraub said.

Memorable But Not Honorable is primarily a punk and pop-punk label. As a teenager, Weintraub was a fan of the

Ramones, Screeching Weasel and The Groovie Ghoulies. These bands are what inspired him to start his passion project.

The label’s first cassette was an acoustic version of some of Teflon Dave’s songs; while this isn’t common for punk or rock, it tames down the abrasiveness that is typical with the genres. Punk and pop-punk have fast-paced and aggressive guitar progressions, heavy drums and at times nasally vocals.

MEMORABLE BUT NOT HONORABLE CASSETTE TAPES “Alone In The Basement”

by Teflon Dave Released July 17, 2020 “We Hate Led Zeppelin - A Tribute To Screeching Weasel”

by Ex-Mats Released Aug. 21, 2020 “Down In The Bass-Ment”

by Billy Putz Released Sept. 11, 2020 “Your Face Is Weird”

by Geoff Palmer & Lucy Ellis Releases Oct. 9, 2020

Weintraub doesn’t want to do this for money, he said. He just wants people to reconnect with something tangible

and connect with others who share that adoration for a hard copy.

What amazes Weintraub the most is how far the community of cassette fans reaches.

People from around the world with internet access now have an easy way to find music that can be streamed and they can have a cassette. Having a physical copy makes it feel real to Weintraub, while also being a way to directly back the band.

“All the money that gets made from the tapes goes back to the bands,” he said. “It feels important to support the bands.”

What’s impressive about Memorable But Not Honorable is the community that it finds for itself. Pop-punk cassette tapes are a retro medium boosted by the help of an international community online. This worldly community helped find artists stateside as well as overseas. Weintraub produces cassettes for bands from Illinois, Indiana, New York, the United Kingdom and Norway.

Weintraub finds himself in a unique space. While most music collectors tend to be fans of records, he finds himself in an even smaller community that likes cassettes within the subgenre of pop-punk. He realizes it might be hard to reach listeners who are plugged into the billboard charts, but if fans like Blink-182, Good Charlotte or Green Day, this label could be the place for them.

“It is a niche, I admit it, but I don’t always want it to be too accessible,” Weintraub said. “You want it to fit people’s need to belong to something, and they belong to this small group, and this small label fits it.”

Over the next few months, Weintraub hopes to create a larger library of cassettes.

With more monthly releases in the works, that shouldn’t be difficult. His next release is Geoff Palmer and Lucy Ellis’ “Your Face is Weird,” which comes out Oct. 9.

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OPINION

PAY TO SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESS OR PAY FOR NOT SUPPORTING THEM Local businesses like Northwest Burgers have had an increase in sales since the start of the streatary program. Eugene’s streatery program supports local businesses and allows for socially distanced outdoor eating on weekends. (Will Geschke/Emerald)

BY JAEL CALLOWAY • TWITTER @JAEL_CALLOWAY The economic downfall following the COVID-19 outbreak has been devastating. Unemployment rates have radically increased and smaller businesses across the country have felt the detrimental effects of an extreme loss of sales — and Eugene is no exception. Our community needs to come together to help our local business stay open.

A May 2020 study found that 100,000 small businesses in the United States have permanently shut down due to COVID-19. Smaller, local merchants struggle to stay afloat while big chain stores, such as Target and Walmart, benefit from these closures.

The coronavirus has separated our community.

Our small businesses were left dealing with the steep decline of sales. In a time when our normality was taken away overnight, it’s important — now more than ever — to support and maintain our small businesses. It’s these shops, restaurants and bars that are operated by our neighbors. They’re a part of our community’s life. When we shop or eat or drink at local institutions, we invest our time and money into the businesses that directly support and reflect our culture.

June was especially hard for our community, as we began to see multiple small businesses close. Turtles Bar & Grill, The Barn Light and several St. Vincent De

Paul thrift stores are among the handful of shops to have gone out of business.

And while these local merchants close down, big corporations, such as Amazon and Target, increase their profits. They don’t care about our local economy that has been fostered by our local businesses. Our community suffers as our money leaves our inner circle and goes to these bigger corporations. Our contributions stop benefiting our neighborhoods and instead fuel “formula retail” which cripples cultural and civil livelihood.

Luckily, there are ways to help. In Eugene, programs and markets are helping to promote our local merchants. Unique Eugene, a nonprofit Independent Business Alliance, is one of the many programs created to boost awareness of small, local businesses. The goal is to support our locally-owned businesses to maintain the unique character that makes Eugene special. Each business that’s a part of this program receives a decal they can put in their stores’ window — I highly encourage you to look for them!

I also encourage you to go out to the Saturday and Tuesday markets on Eighth Avenue and Oak Street.

Both markets showcase locally grown food, while the Saturday market also brings in locally handcrafted

art. They’re great ways to learn about and support individuals who bring soul into our community.

Eugene’s Streatery program is another great way to support local restaurants while staying socially distanced. On weekend evenings, both East Broadway and Fifth Avenue are closed down in order to fill the streets with tables. These restaurants have felt the devastating effects COVID-19 has had on smaller businesses. Business owners participating have expressed their excitement and hope for the program, as it continues to bring in sales. Garrett Kirsch, owner of Northwest Burgers, has high hopes for this program. Kirsch noted that “Our main goal is to make our customers feel safe to come in. And for something like this to be out here I think is a good way to do that.”

Community is reflected by the small interactions that occur in our everyday lives. Stopping by the bar for a beer, finding your favorite restaurant to order the same thing every time, getting the opportunity to work in a store that you’ve been going to since you were little ─ public interaction and support is the foundation of a community. When we support businesses that put our community first, they can once again become a crucial part in our local economy and showcase our vibrant culture.

Emerald Recommends AI WEIWEI’S FORBIDDEN BLOG The Chinese artist Ai WeiWei seems to get more interesting with every new thing I learn about him.

He is one of the most famous artists alive, but until reading “Ai WeiWei’s Blog: Writings, Interviews, and Digital Rants, 2006-2009,” I knew nothing about his written work. This book presents Ai WeiWei’s blog, which was taken down by his foe, the Chinese government, in 2009. WeiWei is a talented artist in any medium.

-Audrey Kalman

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“THE GOOD PLACE” “The Good Place” gets me both laughing and mulling over ethical qualms. Based on a version of the afterlife that uses a point system to determine which humans gain entry to the Good Place, the sitcom incorporates ethical theories like deontology and existentialism. It’s a humorous, surface-level dip into moral philosophy, but it does pose some interesting questions. For example, can the unethical social systems in which you live tarnish your personal morality?

-Sarah-Mae McCullough

“NIAGARA” BY REDVEIL I love a good experimental album. “Some Raps” by Earl Sweatshirt, “Hiding Places” by Billy Woods and “War in my Pen” by Mike are all intricate albums that highlight an underground rap sound. In his latest album, “Niagara,” 16-year-old Redveil incorporates aspects of each of these rappers’ styles. The album is abrasive at times with chaotic beats and witty, muffled one-liners all condensed into 25 minutes.

-James Croxton