Spitfire 1998 - Krist Novoselic

    When I was initially approached about the Spitfire tour, the first thing that came into my thoughts was when Abbey Hoffman and Hunter Thompson came to speak in Seattle in the early eighties. At the time I was living at home in Aberdeen and couldn't make it up to the UW. I did read about it though in the Rocket. It was a boisterous political forum featuring leaders of the counterculture. If Spitfire could be anything like what I recall reading about, it sounded like it was worth the shot.

 The Spitfire tour was billed as a free speech forum with an objective to enlighten, engage and entertain. Each guest speaker was allotted about fifteen minutes to speak on a subject near and dear to their hearts. After the presentation and Q & A, each speaker joined audience members for a "break out session", where people could hear about a topic in a more intimate setting. The sessions were held in classrooms.

We did four shows this year. The first show was at Clemson University in South Carolina. Upon my arrival I was informed that there was a "controversy". Some right wing group had mailed out a statement urging the school to cancel the event because Spitfire was promoting the HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA. The statement railed against Amy Ray and Jello Biafra. The "controversy" brought the local press out. I read the statement and felt sure that it was the work of a lone, or at most couple, of extremist right wing, Christian Supremacists. Knowing what those kind of people are capable of, I was glad to see the law
enforcement presence at the venue. In the end there were no protesters, confirming my hunch about who wrote the press release.

I joined Spitfire in the capacity of moderator or MC. The show started with a three or four minute video presentation featuring short profiles of the panelists or speakers. After the video we all took the stage. As moderator I took the podium and welcomed the crowd then started into my speech. I spoke on how I became politically aware, Nirvana's politics, JAMPAC, the inadequacies of our process and
Proportional Representation as a solution to those inadequacies. I would sprinkle in little ad lib's to get more of a rise from the crowd.

After my address, I would introduce the panelists, who like myself, would speak for about fifteen minutes. Joining us only in Clemson and Gainsville, FL was Amy Ray. I had met Amy on a couple of occasions. I have been a fan of the Indigo Girls music and politics for quite some time. The Clemson show was especially important to Amy. She spoke about the Indigo Girls and all of the grief they got in South Carolina during their free tour of High Schools in that state. She poured her heart out about the obstacles thrown at them and the intense feelings involved around the politics of that tour. Amy said those feelings made her experience an introspection of how she fit into our world as a Lesbian, the world being entertainment, activism and ultimately her neighborhood and street. Amy then picked up her guitar and sang a song. It was just her and a guitar and she rocked. Amy joined us again in Gainsville. At that show she shared the podium with Cecilia Roderiguez who is the EZLN spokesperson in the United States. Cecilia shared with us the issue of the Zapatista insurrection in Chiapas, Mexico. She informed us of the United States and its policies that instigate the conditions for the necessity of such an insurrection. On the screen behind the stage color slides were shown of the people of Chiapas.

Another contribution of Amy's was the inclusion of Tracey Conatay from the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. At Clemson, Tracey spoke about the war on homosexuals here in the United States. She spoke eloquently on how one of the last civil rights fights in our country is over sexual orientation. Tracey didn't join us in Berkeley, but she was back a week later in Tennessee and Florida. The stakes were higher upon her return. Since the Clemson show, the horrible hate crime murder of Matthew Shepherd had occurred in Wyoming. I cannot tell you how moved I am, still, with Tracey's words. She asked us Americans about where we are going to be and what we are going to do when the next murder or assault occurs. She reminded us of how high the stakes are with this, literally, life and death struggle. We cannot stand by while our brothers and sisters are persecuted for only wanting to be themselves. Sobering and inspiring, Tracey's participation made me proud of Spitfire and its intentions.

In Berkeley we were joined by Michael Franti. I have always been a fan of Michael's and the projects he has done over the years. We first met at the Cow Palace when Nirvana held the concert to benefit rape survivors in the former Yugoslavia. The show featured L7, The Disposable Heroes of Hiphopracy, The Breeders and Nirvana. I always try to catch Spearhead, Michael's current band when they come through Seattle. In Berkeley, Michael took the stage with a rap from Spearheads, "Red Beans & Rice". He was so smooth with a cool animation. After the rap Michael spoke of American prisons and our government policies that benefit only the incarceration for profit, prison industry. Berkeley was the only Spitfire featuring Michael. Along with his talent and wit, he contributed racial diversity to Spitfire. Spitfire needs more of that in the future.

Along with Michael, Excene Cervenka appeared only in Berkeley on the tour. Excene gave social commentary through prose. She is such a great poet. I think she hit the nail on the head with her observations on  mainstream culture. Excene should be on national TV every week. Congress should pay for it. It would be the most important social program since the New Deal.

Joining us on all of the Spitfire's was Kennedy. Kennedy came into prominence with her heavy duty sardonic wit as an MTV VJ. Her most prominent contribution was to bring balance to the tour and to challenge  those stuck with knee jerk ideological perspectives. You see Kennedy is a Republican and a committed Libertarian. Remember Libertarians think drugs should be legal. That's not a bad idea. Her perspective is right of center fiscal conservatism, but that's references for you. Kennedy urged us to be responsible for our actions. She reminded us that the media is ratings driven and gives people basically what they want. So we can't go out and blame our yellow media on a right or left wing conspiracy. She connected the media to our justice system in relation to high profile trials and how people skirt justice, or "responsibility", for their actions. I know that it was a great challenge for some people to look beyond their ingrained perspectives when considering what Kennedy had to say. Basically, they are accusing her of being a false prophet because the true Messiah is their own perspective. They had to discount there speech automatically because they identify Kennedy as a follower of the False God. Spitfire is about ideas and not ideologies because, (Here it comes folks); AN IDEA IS WHEN YOU HAVE A THOUGHT. AN IDEOLOGY IS WHEN A THOUGHT HAS YOU.

Mr. Todd McCormick joined Spitfire from the trenches of the Drug War. He is facing a ten year minimum to life sentence because he grew some flowers. Woody Harrelson paid his whopping bail sum or he would be in jail and not on tour with us. Todd's presentation included a video of the media generated around his bust. At times it was hilarious. The video showed Jay Leno making a few jokes about Todd's garden. At other times the video was sobering, showing Todd's arraignment and the excess of government power. Todd grew up with cancer. He's been sick most of his whole life. He looks pretty good these days. Smoking pot helps him feel better. I believe him because I have seen people struggling with illness who changed for the better after using Marijuana. Todd is a hemp expert. He has a voluminous mind of knowledge in regards to Cannabis and esoteric history. We all have our place in the village in regards to our skills. Todd's archetype is that of a teacher.

Jello Biafra came from a European tour to join us on the last two of the Spitfire dates. Jello is the elder statesman of Punk. Jello and his stature are usually ignored. When I spoke of the scathing political commentary in my speech, I was speaking of Jello and the Dead Kennedy's. With this reference, one can see Jello's impact on the politics of the "Alternative Revolution" during the early '90's. The Punks turned out for him at Spitfire. One had a sign that read, "Jello For President". His breakout room was packed. Jello is an articulate and natural orator. He exposed the serious issues omitted by the media. Jello alerted us about international trade agreements that supersede the democratically implemented laws of our country. He expressed his hope for change by providing recent examples like South Africa and the Velvet Revolution of the former Czechoslovakia. He proposed solutions to the many issues and inadequacies of our time. We need to hear and see  more of Jello not only because he needs to get his "due", but because  he addresses, in such a compelling way, big problems that are ignored  by politicians and the media.

Julia Butterfly Hill joined us by cellular phone as she sat in an old  growth Redwood tree. She's been up there for ten months in protest of  clear cutting logging practices. Over the speakerphone she spoke of   nature and the cosmos. She spoke of the reality and impact of greed on our natural world. Through her speech, she revealed the divine love that compels her action. Digital telephone technology is no barrier to love. Julia was pouring it out all over the auditorium as slides of her and Luna the tree were shown behind her, bringing home the spiritual message of Spitfire. God bless Julia.

 I introduced Woody Harrelson as an actor, activist and a person who  walks the walk. Woody is committed to positive change. From my observations, his life is a model for the person of the 21st. century.   The foundation of that model is an awareness of the ecosystem that  sustains us on this big sphere we live on. Woody is a man of action who  delves in many projects that promote this consciousness. At Spitfire, he  promoted the American Party. His brainchild, the AP is not a  conventional party and will not field candidates for election. It is a  resource center for those who want a low impact on the Earth while  having a high impact on themselves, personally and spiritually. The AP  implements economic democracy by alerting people to boycott or support  products and companies. Woody shared with us his experience in fighting  clear cutting at the Headwaters forest. He alerted us to the negative aspects of industry. At the last couple of shows, he played a video he  edited and wrote the music for. The song features a chorus with the  lyrics, "Money makes the world go around". The video featured images  of industry and the world run amok. It was compelling and apocalyptic.

Woody was the last speaker. This is when the Q & A's started. The  best questions were short and to the point. The worst were long, multi  tiered statements. Some people shouted angrily. Some alerted people to  student action events and protests. There were so many questions that  we didn't have time to address every one of them. That is why the  break out rooms worked so well.

 I want to mention all of the people who worked behind the scenes to  make the tour happen. Thank you Sarah, Cubby, Jason, Brad, Angel and  everbody at Keppler & Asscociates for your hard work.

After the tour, Jello told me that the word on the street was that Spitfire was a good thing and is greatly needed. It did entertain for  sure and it was enlightening and engaging. After the last show, I walked  away with something I didn't expect. I am honest to God inspired by Spitfire.