John Golter, GLOB GLOB GLOB, Pt. 2

The following is the second half of the interview with John Golter, of GLOB GLOB GLOB:

Eddie: Top three weird experiences?

John: Uhh..umm--

Eddie: Unexplained mysteries of the(struggles for the right words)... close encounters... ?

John: Well, um... I mean, December 8th was, that was an experience. Having to take down my parachute (there was a giant parachute in the warehouse of Glob) and not know exactly what's going on... I thought I'd be back, get their list of things to resolve, in like a week. A couple of guys were like, "You'll be back here in two weeks" ya know, city officials, were like "It's fine, you'll be back in two weeks".

Eddie: And December 8th is when it got shut down?

John: 2016.

Eddie: 2016? Okay.

John: 25 months (how long Glob was closed)... umm... but I kept thinking like "Aww, this is whatever, for show, this isn't a big... two weeks." I mean, some of the violations were like, I had extension cords plugged in... ya know everyone in America has (an) extension cord plugged in right now. Everyone. And they were like, "You shouldn't have propane tanks connected to your grill inside." I'm like "I can't leave it outside, it will get stolen, immediately" guy was like "Huhh, that happens" How many people do you know have propane tanks connected to their grill, within 5 feet of their house? Most, or a lot. Or they keep it in the garage or whatever. So that it doesn't get rained or snowed on.

So, I thought, ya know, we'll be back in two weeks.

... the birthing process, er the birthing ritual at Tit Wrench, where I played this kind of, "Dunh, dunh, dunh" doomy kind of floor tom, while... every-- a bunch of dudes, piled out of this huge, 10' vagina, in... goop, and writhed around on the ground while Piper-- was it Piper? No, it was another gal-- that recited some poetry... just like yeah, that's an experience.

I think the whole, first year of Tit Wrench was an experience. Ya know, (a) million degrees, middle of summer... I'm pushing 18 hours a day, every single day. By the end of it, I was like "I don't think I've ever been this worn out" from just "Go! go! go!" all these things, ya know? 18 hour days, hot as fuck, completely dehydrated, completely beat up, ya know? That was something else, like "Holy fuck"

... or was it? I think it was the second year. It was just at Glob. The first year, it was between, uh... the place that was previously 7th Circle... uh-- 

Eddie: Blast-O-Mat.

John: Blast-O-Mat, here and Mercury (Cafe), (were) I think the venues the first year. And they were like "Ahh, moving between venues (is) just such a pain, let's just do it at Glob, that's where we want to do it" and I'm like "Yes, that makes sense".

So the second year, was all three nights here. And... that... was just... holy fuck. Like, such an experience, just wiped me out. And everyone was so happy and thrilled, and you know, everyone's just having fun, and... I was so... beat. I mean, I've worked 18 hour days before, but when you work three in a row, in 100 degree heat. It was just like, "Oh my god, I'm gonna fuckin' die".

Umm... I think... ya know, when Lightning Bolt plays, they require a lot of power and the two times they played over here, the whole power in the warehouse goes out! Ya know, the breakers get flipped. Ya know, every single time, every place they play. And it's... total chaos, trying to recover, with hundreds of people, in the dark, everyone yelling. And it's like, "Oh shit... what am I gonna do?" (laughs). The absolute, fucking, panic of it. 

Ya know, we figured it out, got everything going. So...

Eddie: Did they do it multiple times?

John: Yyeaahh... the first one was a couple times, the second time was a couple times.

Eddie: So... multiple shows... they flipped the breakers?

John: Oh, it was like every single show on their tour, they would smash the breakers. 

So it was nothing new to them, they didn't have to do anything but just sit there and I had to scramp around to figure out what the fuck I'm gonna do. And not have the whole audience freak out. 

Umm... fuck, that was tough.

Monotonix, the first time they played here... that was super chaotic, but is wasn't... it... it was really a beautiful thing, cause everyone was in a really good mood, having a really good time. And there wasn't-- nothing really to worry about-- (like) people getting injured, or fights. It was really just a lot of fun because they (Monotonix) were just like hysterically crazy.

Annd, same with Dan Deacon, where he does the whole thing, where you do the procession, if you've ever seen him. And I got some amazing photographs of Dan Deacon, the first time he played... and uh... he needed to use the computer to uhh... do a few emails. I'm like "Alright"-- you know this is three, four in the morning, everyone's gone-- he's like "Before I get to bed, I need to do some emailing" I'm like "Okay, I got my computer in my room, but I'm going to bed" he's all "Don't worry about it"

So I'm sleeping and he's just... at my computer emailing people, for hours. I wake up, it's like six, seven in the morning, (he's) still at it.

Umm...(long pause) yeah, there's a lot of those kinds of things, but those are the one's that are like "Oh my god" Wolves in the Throne room... was a lot of fun, it was crazy.

And I'd get nervous and I'd get apprehensive, cause I've gotta be responsible, I've gotta be on. Deal with plumbing things during a show. Deal with this (and that)... (like) This person needs to leave.

You're just... guardian of the... ship. Take care of a lot of things.

Eddie: Sooo, my understanding of why December 8th, 2016 happened, was because of the Ghost Ship fire. And my view of DIY venues in America, was that that was maybe the crucial turning point in... them existing. And that it's just been a lot harder for DIY venues to get by (in the wake of that)

John: Well, there's a lot of factors, and I don't know enough about Ghost Ship... I mean everyone's read up on it, you can get your own visual picture of it, but I've never been there, I don't know anyone that was running it... You know, I have no idea. I mean I do, from just reading, but you don't... 

It's one of the most horrific... tragic... awful events in California state history. You know... that's the biggest death toll in a fire... that's catastrophic. So for me to jump in and even comment on anything that happened with that... I wasn't there.

Eddie: Well... we don't have to include this in what I type up. I just want to get a sense of what happened to all the DIY venues.

John: Well, I don't know at what point-- it might have been four or five days afterwards, a bunch of people were like "They're gonna start doin crackdowns because of that... the more information they (city people) get about what was going on, they're going to come after you" I'm like okay, I'm anticipating it.

It's fine... ya know... I've had fire inspections every year since I've been here, I'm not... what's gonna happen? Ya know, I don't know. I really wasn't that nervous.

The style, and how they went about it... how by-the-book it was... and how quickly it came, it was like two weeks after... after... the fire. I just have never agreed with how they went about... going to all the art spaces, not just "DIY venues", they went to a lot of art spaces, and... at the same time saying "Oh, we're not targeting anyone" Isn't what you're doing the very definition of, targeting? You're not going to tire shops, you're not going to vinyl reproduction centers, you're going to all the art spaces in Denver, all of them, in a two week period and putting everyone on notice. How is that not targeting? That's the definition of targeting, a group of people, a culture. Okay.

And I understand that you have to do certain things. That's what those departments handle, that's what they get a paycheck to do, but in certain cases, there's a grey area, and it just doesn't, make any sense.

You just made, fifteen people, just in this block, go homeless. Overnight. In the middle of winter. Ya know? 

If they had made... raised concerns, and they were like, "We need to see you working towards these certain things... you know, we won't completely shut you down, and we'll help you along" And it would have been a big deal, but they were like, "You gotta leave in a hour, grab your stuff." Like, hmm, for what? This house has been doing this for 20 something years. We have fire extinguishers, we have inspections, everything's up to date, ya know, we won't throw a show. 

There's just better ways of handling it. It was very heavy handed. And I think the city, going by the book, on everything... and not taking a good judgement... on the situation, just going by some pamphlet. It just, it never made any sense to me. Never did.

Eddie: Yeah, it seems like--

John: And they look like, a bunch of assholes. Cause you know, I let them jump in front of the camera first and... they just look like... they felt bad. Their kids were like, "Why did you do that?" and they can't explain to them, "Uhh, it's because of the code, and uh, gotta play by the rules," I'm like, I had some of them in the meetings with the city that were like "Yeah, my kid used to go to shows there and he just thinks I'm like the worst human being ever. I wouldn't even be responsible for enforcing it, and yet just the whole building, everyone's just shitting on us on social media," I'm like "Yeahhh... "

So yeah, that was a big turning point. But, to fault... or to just... easily say (Ghost Ship was it)... (that's just) kind of, a lazy thought, to just be like "Aww that's what killed it, that's what killed DIY, and just music and bluh bluh bluh"

It (DIY death) was on the horizon. Everyone knew it. Like it was on the horizon Denver was changing. Shit was getting so expensive. 

You can't do experimental, fun, just-because (art and music projects), it's just too pricey. 

You can do that in other cities that aren't just soo cost-prohibitive. And Denver was one of those cities at one point. Ya know, when the prices everywhere in Denver, ramped up and escalated in the last... 6, 7 years.

Eddie: I guess that's the fuller picture of it... Wasn't it?.... Didn't you tell me at one point that the landlord had blueprints up (when you moved in) of what they were gonna turn it into?

John: In less than five years. 

Eddie: Right, so it wasn't like a permanent thing... I don't know, part of me wants to mourn it, like, a little bit. And I guess the reason there can't be... you need to make money to get by, and these project didn't make that much money. I mean, none of this was because people were becoming wealthy with it.

John: Right, this was never by anyone's account-- and I never even thought about it to be honest-- I just liked recording bands, and playing in bands, and listening to music, and drawing (John made awesome show posters) and film, and just gonna have my room to goof off in. Pretty simple, ya know? Like just, have, a room. Have a very big room. And yeah, we'll have shows, whatever. We'll do fun things. 

But... that kind of like... "Here's my room," and like "Here's my huge room of this (gestures to the warehouse)" it's not, you don't find those. Unless you get, ya know, someone with extreme wealth, who can afford to do something like this. I mean... it's... possible, for someone with money to come in, and you know, buy a space kind of like this, in Denver. It's not impossible. 

But generally, like... before weed was legal, before people really started moving here, before prices really escalated, it was hard to find a space, ya know, but it really wasn't that difficult. But now it's like... if you were to press me, like, where I could do this... I don't know where I would go (laughs) I don't know where it would be perfect to do something. I just don't see the kiddos getting another Mouth House.

And what happens when... the uh... owner of 7th Circle decides to sell? What do you have?

I equate it-- and I've explained this to a lot of people-- an easy, real-world explanation for me to explain is, look at baseball-- and you don't have to be a baseball fan or know anything about baseball-- but you know that there's the majors and then the minors.

I'm not quantifying music as something (like) "These guys are in the majors \ these guys are in the minors" but there is kind of a tier, ya know, uhh, to me... I liked the tier that I was catering to, that's the jam I just love. And you can put that in any hierarchy, quantify it any way you want.

But you look at, there's the Majors (then), triple A, double A, single A. And then teams, baseball teams, are actually investing in, kind of... these camps... in South America where they set up this big facility and the kids who show talent in baseball move in, they get housed, they get fed, and they go to school. And then they get professional training at a high school age to develop into baseball players. So they have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of these kids and, some of them make it, some of them don't, but at least they get an education and whatever.

So if they're any good, and they get to age 18, or 19, they go into single A, where the baseball team pays them, to get better and play single A. They get better, they go to double A, triple A, and then into the majors. So a lot of these players, won't see the majors til they're like 24 \ 25. It's pretty rare to have players start playing before the age of 22, it just takes a long time. 

But while they're good, but they're not that great, that baseball team is paying them, all the way, for all those years, in the hopes that "Yay!" they're in the majors.

We're at, basically, the single A level, give or take. Bars and theaters are at the double, the big theaters are at the triple, and the majors are places like the Mission (Ballroom) and Red Rocks, and... Pepsi Center, places like that. 

So, the profit, down at the bottom, the profits and money to be made, at this level it's... not that much, if anything. You lose money. And I've seen this, with a lot of bands, they come back on the second time they go touring, they get better. And then the third, they're even better. And the next thing you know, they're playing a theater in town. Like "Ohh" They might call or text like, "Hey, I know we used to play at your place, how 'bout you come down and hang out with us, get some beers, at whatever theater we're playing at?" And they're making... okay, money, ya know, it's not their full-time job. And the next thing you know they're at an even bigger level, like "Wow! You guys are playing Red Rocks, shit" like "Yeah, do you wanna come, like, hang out back stage?" like "Yeah, hell yea, that's cool"

So, AEG... and... the Clear Channel operation... they're operating at the Mission Ballroom, Pepsi Center, the Fillmore, Gothic, Ogden, and other big venues. So they're making great money putting on their shows.

Well all of those entertainment acts, that they get in there... these things don't happen in a vacuum. They start at the single A. They go to a double. Then a triple, and then they're good. 

(You know) The Police, the band? Their first show was at like, Wembley Stadium, because they recorded (a hit) before they ever did a show (and) they got huge on the radio, their first show was in the big time. That... never happens... ever ever ever. Ya know? That... never happens. 

So I've always, just thought, to make DIY... work for the long term, or actually survive, in this cost-prohibitive-- and not just in Denver, but everywhere-- eventually Detroit and Kansas City are gonna be expensive. Eventually, all these places that are pretty cheap, are not gonna be. 

And I've just thought, "Well, where does an entertainment, a musical entertainment kind of group... Where do they get their start?" and if they do get their start, the only places that are small, that hires, or allows bands to play, are gonna be like, cover band places, country band places. They're not gonna be like, "You wanna do what again? We don't do that kind of thing here" or anywhere.

So you're gonna end up having, like, people open up their homes and it's pretty rare, ya know, a house can hold... a hundred people, if the band starts to get popular. It's just not really gonna happen. Maybe 50. And then people are gonna move out of that house and then someone's gonna come by on their second tour and be like, "Oh, that house is gone, where do I go?" "Oh, well, Jimmy's got a house, I think, we'll search around" Making it even more impossible to go on tour, to get better, to get your name out. To... hone your craft. And if you have those ideals, eventually you'll get up to the triple A, or double A, or the major kind of level.

Well... what do you do, if that goes away? And you're not developing talent? What is AEG, what is Clear Channel, where... ?... when it gets dried up at the bottom, it filters up to the top, they're not gonna have-- for generations-- not just next week, but generations ahead of us, they're not gonna have any... Pearl Jams or... Dan Deacons... or... Matt and Kim's or Future Islands, or Health or whatever. To... put on a show. You can't hold on to Mick Jagger, you can't hold on to Pearl Jam, like, that's eventually just not going to work. You know? You can't do, a million American Idols, to fill that void. You're eventually going to have to, get in line with these smaller places, that develop bands... and so on and so forth. 

So when these (venues) across America, across L.A, across San Francisco, across New York, Philly, Chicago, everywhere in between, it's dying, or it's dead... like you're gonna see, in a generation, like, it's just not a thing... you know? It's just... they're not going to have any bands to book. Or entertainment, to book, because it got swallowed up.

Now, it makes sense for them to approach me, or next door (Rhinoceropolis), or 7th Circle and be like "Yo, what're your expenses? What would it take to be safe, keep these going, book as many bands as possible, don't worry about the profit, like you've been doing, but, we're going to get you into a house, or... get you into an area, and get everything up to code, and you can throw shows, don't worry about the bills, we'll take care of it"

And they're gonna have to do that everywhere... everywhere, or get a system where... bands can tour and there's a couple options in each major city. But the... the big guys, and this even goes to Budweiser and to the person that owns the (bigger) venue, like, what's going to happen when this whole system dries up? You're not going to have anyone to draw hundreds of people to your... occasion. People aren't going to want to see cover bands, they're just... that's just not how the world works.

And you need something outside of jam bands, and country bands, and like, electronic... DJs. You need like a full spectrum of... kind of... 

And this place (Glob) I think-- and this includes next door-- has produced enough (talent) that goes to a pretty big level... for just... us. The amount of projects that have been coming through here, to make money for... those bigger entertainment promoters, that it almost warrants, "Hey man, like, we've proven we can do this. If we have more resources, whatever, we'd probably do a better job, be safer, and eventually, years later, those bands will trickle up to you, because they'll have a fan base in Denver and then... that fan base will increase and then, that's how you'll make your money"

That's from a business sense, that's as someone who's concerned about culture... and community and this town. 

And looking outside of this town and going "This is a huge, nationwide thing" And music's already gone through the fuckin' shitter in the last few years, through that whole cycle, and it'll continue to get... uglier and uglier. Those bands that they counted on, eventually are going to retire, die, move away, stop, whatever. Lucero can't keep doing shows, ya know, Widespread Panic, eventually, is gonna stop. You're eventually gonna run out, and you're looking at, not just the CEO's career, right now, but the person who takes over for the CEO who took over for the CEO. So 20 years from now, we'll see what happens... if I'm around or whatever.

But that... that kind of set-up, to be invested in now and get a root system now, will only benefit them later. They just can't see past that, they don't know how the ground system works. And I just have never have gotten a meeting, and I've spoken with enough people that would have their ear (to the ground) I don't if they got back to these people who run this kind of thing, but they're gonna have to be lookin' at a farm system, so-to-speak, that generates talent up at the top.

I saw a quote from one of the guys (entertainment people) one time that was like "Where is the next Pearl Jam? That will generate... Where is the next Nine Inch Nails? That can fill up a Pepsi Center. Where's the next Lady Gaga, where's the next... all these things?" And this guy was like beside himself in the interview saying, "We just don't see it" 

Of course they don't, cause you're not developing it at the bottom, and you're making it completely impossible for it to... spring up. You're not planting seeds, you're just being a lawnmower (laughs).