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THE HAMTRAMCK MEETING
(April 2004)
I drove to the Urban Break cafe in
Hamtramck at 8 pm to meet Steve
Kostecke, Michael Jackman and Yul Tolbert.
There was a map of SE Asia taped to
the wall of the cafe when I went in.
And framed photos of Vietnam everywhere.
Who picked this place? Steve? Weird.
I arrived early, so I left and took a walk around the
neighborhood. I was surprised to hear a lot of young people
speaking Polish. Most of the stores were closed at that time of
evening but it was still a lively neighborhood. However, I smiled
to see the Detroit vibe in full display with many locals sporting
mullets, smoking and looking speedfreak and biker-like. I was
parked by a little old bar called "Whisky in a Jar" which is
situated among the houses off the main drag. My car suspension is
malfunctioning and the airshocks are permanently and fully
extended, giving the OYB-mobile a properly ridiculous Detroit
style. (Later on I see that Michael's beat up Citation also fits
in perfectly.)
Friday night at the little cafe is Beat Poet Night, with poetry
and music starting at 8pm. Who picked this place? Karl?
While walking back to the cafe I checked out an amazing
collectible records shop. Later on I passed a troop of bouncy
black kids who laughed and said "Hey, you look like you're from
the movies!" Ha... It's the trademark ULA fedora and jean jacket.
Just before I went back into the cafe, I saw a wad of cash blowing
around on the sidewalk: 3 fives and a buncha ones. Cool! I
snatched it up, then I waited for the gang.
Mike arrived, tired and cranky. I showed him the cash and said
"Hey, cheer up. It's our kitty."
Then Steve showed up. It was nice to see him after all these years
of email. He showed us postcards of his town in Thailand, of the
ancient and gorgeous country he lives in, where food and beer are
cheap.
Then Yul came in. He showed us some recent work and a "best new
artist" award he received.
Then the poets started reading to a bongo beat and snapping their
fingers and we said we're outta here.
MJ didn't want a bar, but he picked the wrong cohorts. Well, two
of the wrong cohorts. We went to "Whisky in a Jar" for awhile.
What a place. AC on full blast in the cold night. Front door open
to arctic breezes. One bar worker seemed insane, retarded,
friendly and plastered all at the same time. A co-owner who was
present went into a fit of Turette's, but was readily restrained,
and smiled as he calmed down. A band showed up with a tall, sexy
speed-freak babe who made herself at home behind the bar. Everyone
was yellin', drinkin' and friendly. They had no snacks but offered
to get us a $5 large pizza next door. We drank Polish beer and
water and yelled above the noise.
When the DJ music kicked into full gear we left and looked for
another bar. We found a crazy place full of blackhaired young men
(and a few women) staring at us. Nope. Then we went to MJ's old
actor's bar and settled in.
Yul set to sketching this and that and the ULA gang.
During the evening we chatted about putting out novellas by Steve
and Michael. This seemed like a cheap and accessible project.
Print up a thousand for a buck apiece, for instance. (Ask
http://fidlardoubleday.com or http://colorhousegraphics.com for a
quote to find out. FD has the best prices for 200-book runs and CH
has the best prices for 1000-book runs that I've ever seen.)
We talked about how weird it was that we all somehow found each
other and the ULA without knowing that all our main members were
originally from Detroit. There's something weird about Michigan...
Michael said he was going to send me SP1s from his huge stack of
unpacked and intimidating boxes in his apartment. And that he was
going to make postcards and posters from The Finger negative. And
that he doesn't like Amazon. He said that he thinks that the ULA
is prime to make inroads in the British literary scene and can
conquer NYC indirectly that way. After the UK, then NYC. It
sounded good to us. He was cranky, yet clever as usual.
I pestered Steve to move to the US, to Philly in particular,
saying that if he, Mike and Karl were in Philly the world would
take notice. And the UK in particular, if that's what we wanted.
Insane poets aren't enough. Steve, Mike and Karl are smart, and
good on stage. That is what we need to get attention. Steve said
he hates Philly. He also said he'd do it if Mike went first. He
was going to find out in the next few days from Leah if SP3s
arrived then get them. He gave us his stash of SP2s and SP3s.
Yul is going to send us non-ad web fee info to get the ads off of
the ULA website. He was quiet as usual but listening as usual.
I declared that I would do a national mailing of OYB catazeens
that offered ULA material and lots of other stuff to zine-friendly
indy bookstores. I am also going to start a telemarketing campaign
as of tomorrow to begin getting more bookstore accounts. (However,
I'm also calling a lot of bike shops which won't help the ULA
cause beyond helping feed my family which itself helps the ULA
cause.) By these two methods we'll learn more as to whether the
future looks rosy for selling ULA products on our own.
Then everyone but me got tired and we wrapped things up.
-- Jeff Potter
