Bands: Drums for KY and Glass Candy and the Shattered Theatre. Drums
and vocals for Blood Operators.
Rent: $795 ($265 each)
Description of Crib: Upstairs is intricate yet comfortable. Thrifted
air hockey table. Most furniture purchased at Goodwill Bins. Melanie describes
décor as “Like a mutt. All different styles in one. Kind of pastiche, but
there’s a word for it in architecture. I don’t know, I guess it’s just fuckin’
Goldberg land.” In the basement, the walls are painted glittery red, and there
is a tiki-themed sitting area complete with grass hut. Melanie sometimes has
bands play shows in her basement. As a result, there are instructional signs
for showgoers all over, such as “CIGARETTES HERE! Please Not on Lawn,” “NOT
A BATHROOM! No One Upstairs, Please! Keep Door Closed!!” and “CARDBOARD (Cereal Boxes, Hot Pocket Boxes, etc.) & PLASTIC BOTTLES IN RECYCLING, NOT TRASH!
Thanx.”
Description of projects on living room floor: “KY is going on
tour on Monday. We’re just about to silkscreen the T-shirts; we just got these
inks and we’re just going to check out the colors. We have two days to decide.
We’re also making two cassette singles for tour.”
Type of records in Crib: “There’s a lot of new wave and punk from the
late ’70s and early ’80s. Also a lot of psychedelics, ’60s garage rock stuff.
Prag Veck, this amazing No Wave band from 1979 England. Cheap Trick–I loooove
this record.”
What’s in the fridge: “This is an entire thing of cabbage. I really
like cabbage on salad. Here’s a peach, mustard, butter. We’re not really vegan
around here.”
Name of mannequin in living room: Darla. “I sell some clothes at Seaplane,
and we do fashion shows twice a year. I did an underwear line in the last fashion
show, and this was a nightgown I started making for Ida No [of Glass Candy].
I never finished it, so the mannequin’s been wearing it because the colors match
this room. When she’s in the other room, she likes to wear black, white, and
red.”
She’s got a great wig. “That was one of my favorite wigs, but I left
it near this light bulb and it fried the hair inadvertently, so I don’t wear
it anymore.”
Future of Crib: “They’re going to tear it down. They have plans to
‘acquire’ this whole block and turn it into condos. They said they’d do it in
three years and it’s been one, but I don’t have a lease right now, so they could
do it anytime.”