 "Photo: Illustration by Dan Doxtater")
It's Sunday night and a group of people is sitting around a wooden table outside a recording studio on Nord Avenue. They're drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes while talking about music and upcoming concerts. No, this isn't a group of college kids winding down from the weekend, it's a meeting of the Chico area Pyrate Punx.
But these aren't your typical pirates. They are pioneers helping pave the way for counterculture bands by putting on shows at local venues.
"We started working together long before the Pyrate Punx," said Shelby "Saint Ann of Archy," a hairdresser from Chico and the first mate. "Most of us were already in bands and putting on shows. The Pyrate Punx really just put a blanket over what we were already doing and made it easier for us."
The Pyrate Punx concept came to Chico about a year ago, but its original chapter in Oakland has been around since 1997. Pyrate Punx has 25 chapters worldwide, including chapters in Amsterdam and Indonesia, Saint Ann said.
Pyrate Punx are so dedicated they go by their counterculture names, not their real ones.
"The details of how you become a member differ from chapter to chapter, but typically there are 13 rules of agreement," she said.
Although no specifics were given, Shawn "Captain Ray DeHated" said a dedication to the counterculture lifestyle is a must for becoming a member.
"You have to demonstrate the right skills," said Captain Ray, a Chico State and Butte College professor. "You have to prove that you can run your own concert. That's when you move from cabineer to a member of the Pyrate Punx."
Captain Ray said cabineers must be sponsored by a Pyrate Punx member and prove they can handle the responsibilities of putting together a concert.
But concert responsibilities and details are not just left to future Pyrate Punx. Members work together to iron out the details.
"The shows are organized in detail," Captain Ray said. "Ticket sales, smoking and nonsmoking areas, green-room areas all have committees to decide about details of events. We always have at least five people working at every show so that way no problems will occur."
The Punx also make sure the bands are taken care of, especially if they are from out of town.
"We feed them and house them at our own houses," said Barb-b, a member of the Pyrate Punx. "The bands get the option of staying at a party house, a mellow house or a sleeping house."
The Pyrate Punx also make sure at least one local band plays in the shows so some "raw Chico music" is included.
"The bands pick us," said Brent "Blacklisted," a Chico graphic designer. "At meetings we usually have a list of bands who want to play at a show, and then we listen to their music and pick. We won't ever book any bands that are racist, sexist or homophobic, so we always request that they send us a demo tape."
The Pyrate Punx has shows booked up until December, including The Melodramatics, PAWNS and Leftover Crack.
Leftover Crack is a nationally recognized band from New York and is currently signed to Fat Wreck Chords. The band will start a West Coast tour Friday in Portland, Ore., and will play at Monstros Pizza on Tuesday with a 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. show, making it a big show for the Punx.
But a big show does not mean big pay for the Pyrate Punx.
"We pay out-of-town bands 70 percent of door sales," Blacklisted said. "We take the remainder of the sales to make fliers and for other stuff that happens along the way."
The Pyrate Punx are also trying to raise money to help out the Long Beach Warehouse, an underground punk show venue that was shut down and received fines.
"They aren't Pyrate Punx, but they are friends," said Zeke Optimo, a computer programmer and founder of chicolist.com. "Real punk rock is a very dry thing. It's a culture. It's a tribe. It's a world tribe, and it ends up being a very small world."
The Pyrate Punx hope to dispel myths about the punk-rock culture.
"We aren't just a bunch of funny looking people," said Barb-b. "We are a lot of highly educated people who do a lot outside of the group."
For more information on upcoming shows visit www.myspace.com/chicoareapyratepunx.
Amber Morley can be reached at amorley@theorion.com
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