Punk rock

no one feels like they fit in no one does even the people who everyone think are the ones that you have to be like to fit in they don't think they fit in there if somebody tells you they think oh i absolutely fit and i'm a big deal run they're crazy but being able to give that back Being able to do what does feel like destiny to me.

That being a graphic designer, being a punk rock kid in touring bands, then learning to throw and put on shows and concerts.

My time touring, my connections, my time working at Fault Line, all these things, if I whittle them down, it all does come to an apex.

And that absolutely goes to, okay, you've been throwing nightlights, all these things.

You are the real true powerhouse, Ben.

Absolutely.

I'll tell you, if I hadn't found Punk Rock, the most amazing person ever, Katie Coder, who was the first girl to say she liked me.

She's also the first person to show me Freaking Weasel and Ramones.

I play Sandlot baseball with the Cap City Cobras in Austin, Texas.

Taking inspiration from punk rock, hardcore, and anti-authoritarian principles, Doc Ellis Baseball removes the classic arbiters from the game.

There's no one to tell you you're out, no one in charge of what to do.

You just get three swings to put the ball in play.

This conversation was recorded when I visited Philadelphia to attend the Fall Classic, a league event that brings together teams from multiple cities.

And while the weather didn't cooperate and canceled the games, I was still able to sit down with Carlo and capture some of the wisdom he's gathered from well over a decade of being a leading organizer in Philadelphia Sandlot baseball.

As far as I understand, the West Philly Waste was started by people who were baseball fans in the punk rock community.

I think I came here on a tour.

So if you can tell us a little bit about, you know, your background, you we can kind of go from there.

So I guess the easiest way to put it is a lot of my background was in the punk rock music scene in Fresno, California, which is where me and my brother and even my girlfriend, we're all from the same area.

So with doing like a lot of punk shows, you know, you always find those bands that nobody else has really heard of yet.

And they're real niche.

But you had different styles.

And I think that's kind of where we got started.

It was just a punk rock thing.

And we were drinking beers at concerts.

This is Dave Schneider, Storied Sounds, 89.5 WPKN in Bridgeport.

My guest today will be the big fat combo, Cary Pollack, and the legendary guru, Tom Hearn, photographer for Punk Magazine, father...

Security hater.

He hates security at any event.

Yeah, and the other one is in Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts.

That's another hotspot.

And both of these exhibits are by John Holmstrom, who was the editor and publisher of Punk Magazine, and it's a...

Both of them are called Punk 50, and they are a celebration of 50 years of Punk Magazine.

Well, let's kind of get back into your origin story a little bit.

You were working in the Fat Rec Ballroom before, or Mailroom, before you became the voice of one of Punk Rock's most recognizable...

I like the Ballroom.

Yeah, do you like that? The Fat Rec Ballroom.

Before you became the voice of one of Punk Rock's most recognizable cover bands.

And by work, that's W-E-R-Q.

Ha ha ha! Looking back, did you have any idea from saying yes to that opportunity that this would turn into such a long career?

So let's talk about my guest.

He is a brilliant author, clinician, and pioneer in trauma recovery who somehow manages to blend, I love this, Zen mindfulness with EMDR therapy and a touch of punk rock authenticity.

He has spent decades helping people strip away their emotional armor, oof, face their past traumas, and rewire the way they treat themselves.

He is here to help us shed the mental weight we have been carrying, practice real self-compassion, and learn how to finally be present for the lives we're living right now.

Exactly.

Yeah.

And when I was there in the 70s, I was introduced to punk rock when I was 15.

Okay.

Jawbreaker, of course, out of the...

Well, eventually out of the East Bay Punk scene.

I believe they started down in Southern California and then moved to San Francisco.

And eventually...

They moved out of San Francisco and over into Oakland.

But most of them did, at least, because, well, it was less expensive.

And yeah, always a big part of the East Bay Punk scene.

Jawbreaker, preceded by something brand new out of Ohio.

As far as myself goes with, like, the whole buried entry as far as, like, having enough of a palate to be able to deal with surface noise and all that.

You know, I grew up playing in punk bands where, like, nobody's record sounded good.

You know? Yeah, sure.

Am I frozen at all? You look frozen, so I want to make sure I'm not frozen.

So, so yeah, it's just like a, you know, it's a holistic thing.

You got to get a lot of listening in, got to get a lot of playtime in and just be willing to just stick around, you know?

So did you start playing in, playing in punk bands? Were you playing electric?

Yeah.