I got on the G train, which is the only train that never touches Manhattan, and it was unlike any other train. It was octagonal on the inside, with black walls illuminated by neon green lights. It was self-cleaning, efficient, and god was it fast. I'm pretty sure I got abducted actually.

4. (On Good-Byes)

Two evenings before Audrey left for London, a six-foot blanket of snow fell upon the streets of New York City. She had worked that evening as the desk manager of a concert that was held in a club that her father owned. The two of them arrived early in the evening, at around eight o'clock, just as the first drifts of snow were beginning to form beneath their feet. "Do you think anyone will come?" she asked. "Because of the snow?"

At four in the morning, when they finally, and with a weary resolve, packed up the last of the sound equipment, counted the door money and walked out the back entrance of the club, West 53rd street was unrecognizable beneath the white sheets, bright enough that it might have been confused for daytime. Her father, a briefcase full of microphones and cables in one hand, took two steps from the door before he slipped and fell on his back. "I don't think we can take the subway," he said, from the ground where he lay.

One by one, six taxicabs scoffed and drove off when she called them over and said "we're going to Brooklyn," and the hotels in Times Square were all full. The two walked for close to an hour, his suit and her black skirt long since soaked by the snow that rose to their knees. They walked from hotel to hotel, without exchanging so much as a word, their arms growing tired and their wills being weakened by the cold. "Let's just go to a diner," suggested her father, "and eat breakfast."

The two sat, warming their hands on cups of coffee refills, and slowly chewed on eggs and bagels, staring mindlessly out the window. "You know," Audrey said, after some deliberation, "soon I'll be leaving for London."

"I know," he said. "Your mother and I will miss you."

"But this blizzard had to happen just now, just before I leave." She sighed, and took a sip of coffee. "As if it weren't scary enough to be going away, first I have to watch my home being buried in white."

"Well, the snow will all be gone in a few days," he said.

"Yeah, and so will I."

Interview with various members of Caroliner, including Timber Amplifier, The Felt Pelt, Chance Century, Sore Pony Lore, Chapel Rimmer, Old Ben Spayed. From fanzine WINGNUT, Volume 3, approx 1990.


Wingnut: Where do you see music going in the next 10 years?

Timber Amplifier: At this rate, music seems to just bring an exact year-to-year duplicate of itself with the same limitations as when it started. With country music you can have a duplicate sound, but with some of the best instruments available: banjo, jews harp, slide guitar, etc. The absolute of the repeating motif of music is ultimately realized with the nostalgia act of Caroliner. Ten years from now, Caroliner will have the music down so perfect, hopefully, that we will have ways to actually nostalgically re-create the 1800's by intensifying the duplicate sound and move to the head of the music pack.

Wingnut: Do you listen to the radio? If so, what kind of station?

Timber Amplifier: There is no station locally that will respond to our requests for entire Dock Boggs lp's, demonstration of early American electronics/instruments, Hal Holbrook's Mark Twain lp's, and sounds of train routes across the U.S. Unfortunately, no radio station will respond to our specific simple requests so we don't use them.

3.

At four-thirty in the morning, I found two Hong Kong dollars beneath my couch pillow. I held up the scratched, faded coin against the light and watched the yellow illuminated circle dance around the coin's jagged edges. "Hey Thomas," I called out, "look what I found."

Thomas had been pacing back and forth obsessively, as he is prone to do late in the evening. He had had a couple glasses of whiskey with ice which, rather than calming him, seemed tonight to be making him even more nervous than usual. "What's that?" he responded, after a few seconds of silence in which he snapped out of whatever he was thinking about and allowed my words to sink in.

"It's two Hong Kong dollars."

"What the fuck? What the fuck?" he shouted. His eyes were wide with what looked close to intense fear. "I haven't been to Hong Kong in almost six years. What's that doing in the couch?"

"I don't know, Thomas," I said. "I don't know."

the perfect music will involve no musicians.

The last time that I ever saw Doris Fader was in her apartment in Great Neck, sitting in her chair. By this time, she was in a lot of pain and it was obvious, although she tried in vain to cover it up. She would sit in the chair and grimace with her eyes closed and I used to think that she was wishing the end would come soon. She probably was. I had brought my laptop up for this particular trip under the guise that I was going to get something done although god knows what that was, since this was early June and I was far removed from school. I sat on Doris and Howard's couch as Doris rocked herself back and forth, back and forth. My mother and father shuttled in and out of the room, taking turns asking Doris if she needed anything. The answer was always no. My grandfather nervously paced about, periodically opening his mouth to say something but then shutting it just as quickly. I was very uncomfortable because I felt the mourning already setting in and yet, Doris was still painfully breathing. My mother approached me after a whlie and said "Maybe you should try talking to her for a bit. She's pretty unhappy now." She then left the room, leaving just me and Doris, who really only seemed partially there. I really didn't know what to say in such an uncomfortable situation, being put on the spot like that. I opened Itunes and put on "I Loves You Porgy" by Billie Holiday, because I thought she might like it. I know it's a famous Nina Simone song but I put on the Billie Holiday version that I have because I like it more. There's a lyric "It's going to be like dying" that always makes me shiver when I hear Billie sing it and I suppose I put it on for this reason, not even considering Doris' situation. I swear to you, I saw this with my own two eyes; Doris' face LIT up. She smiled and she looked at me and said "It's Billie". She started to hum along and then began to quietly sing the lyrics, her eyes closing in a very different manner than before If you can keep me/I want to stay here with you forever/I've got my man.