1996_03 Insight March 1966

              Lifestyle
MARCH 27,1996
DONTWOWW..
Some piercing insights
I Advice: Make sure
they know what
they're doing
by Kelly Hansen
Staff Writer
When it comes to jewelry, a simple
string of pearls or a classic pair of
diamond studs just doesn't cut it any-
Welcome to the world of nipple
rings and pierced tongues.
Today, the choice is much broader
for males and females alike — and
we're not just talking about cars.
While navel piercing is becoming
common, those craving another place
to poke a hole in their bodies arc considering the tongue, eyebrows,
nipples, the septum area between the
nostrils or even genital areas.
Poppy Morrison is worried.
Morrison. 20, fears she has reached
a point in her life where she is conforming to the norms of society. She
has recently decided to remove the
ring from her septum when the occasion calls for it.
She was skeptical of piercing gaining popularity, fearing that it would
become mainstream.Her initial motive for piercing was because it was
different and unusual.
Piercing for the 'average Joe'
Morrison's fear wasn't altogether
wrong. Body piercing, like tattooing,
has emerged as a popular trend among
thc mainstream.
Amy Ledford. a 20-year-old liberal
studies major and sorority member,
had her tongue pierced in February
while visiting Berkeley.
"I consider myself kind of your'average Joe." not your stereotypical
body piercer." said Ledford. who
made a list of pros and cons before
she went through with die process.
"The only pro was that I wanted it.
I'd wanted it forever, and I did it. I
love it. and 1 don't regret it."
Ron Morrison, a 26-year-old computer science major, first had his navel pierced to mark the second anniversary of his sobriety.
"It was a thing of symbolism for
me." he said. "Some people buy rings
and stuff, but I did this. It's not something lhat can fall off and get lost in
the wash or anything."
Ron Morrison said that after getting his navel done, he wanted something else.
So last year, he got his left nipple
pierced and then his right. He is happy
with the results".
Most people who get pierced are
happy afterward, according to Sharri
Rainey. 24. Rainey does body piercing at Body Art in Fresno and has
been piercing for about seven years.
Rainey has many piercings herself,
and says she tries to keep herself looking mellow, so as not to "freak people
Precautions prior to the pierce
She stressed lhal the most important things to inquire about before
getting pierced are the safety precautions taken by the person who is going to pierce you.
Ask to see pictures of their previous
work. Ask about their sterilization
procedures and what kind of jewelry
they use." Rainey said. 'Make sure
that thev know what thev 're doing."
With the range of body parts that
people can have pierced, it is completed up to the piercer what ihev will
or will not do.
Gypsy, who works at Black Dragon
in Fresno, has been piercing since the
early 70s.
He said he will do ears, brows, lips.
nipples and navels bul not tongues.
and "nothing below the waist."
"It's jusi something that I choose
not to do." he said.
Rainey. on the other hand, has no
problem piercing any body part as
long as the client is serious about il.
"I definitely want to check the person out first I don'l want to get some
crazy in.m in here telling me he wants
his penis pierced." said Rainey. "But
if thev are serious about il. it's line
bv me."
Under 16 turned away
There are no licensing requirements
for those who perform the piercing.
bul there are credible certifications
and credentials that can be oblained.
Raines said.
Neither Rainey nor Gypsy will
pierce anyone under 16 without parental consent Rainey prefers that the
client be at least It* because she
doesn'l want "some kid going in there
and getting a bunch of holes that he
regrets."
As with any puncture to the skin, a
piercing will close up and heal if the
client
Ledford said lhal she will have to
remove the barbell from her longue
and let it close up for her job this summer.
Amy Kuykendall. a 21-year-old
criminology major, found lhat her
pierced navel closed up on her before
she wanted it to.
"One night. 1 noticed lhat ihe skin
between the holes had shrunk," said
Kuykendall. "The next morning it was
jusi dangling there. I barely tugged at
it and the ring came right out."
When she called the man who had
performed the piercing, he told her
that "her body had viewed it as a foreign object and just kicked it right
Poppy Morrison, an art history
major, was leery of piercing her sep-
luin because she thought it would be
extremely painful, but it "wasn't lhat
bad."
Ron Morrison said that he thinks
people with multiple piercings forget
what pain is like.
"Once they've had one thing
pierced, the next may not seem so
bad." he said.
Ledford likened her tongue-piercing to burning her longue on hot
chocolate.
"Its more of an annoyance than
anything else." she said.
Reactions to piercings
The reaction of others can be interesting.
Those with the more subtle
piercings don't get as many comments, but something like the pierced
septum is draws attention.
Ledford said that most people think
it's gross at first because it's not something they would do themselves.
Once they see it. their curiosity is
sparked.
"People ask you ridiculous things."
Ledford said. "The other day someone asked me if I could take it out and
fit a French fry in there."
What was the worst part? Telling
the parents.
Kuykendall's father told her lhat
next she would be piercing her nose
and tongue and become a "biker
babe."
"My dad started laughing, and my
mom started crying." said Ledford.
Insight photo by Ryan McKee
Showing off her nose ring, Kelly Wick feels that body piercing is
you're dealing with,    becoming too much of a trend.
T4JIS
WONT
-HU-&T4)
-BIT
Insight photos by Ryan McKee
Tracing the outline of her design, Kim LeCuyer (top) carefully fills in the subtle details. Joy Hobbs
(bottom) whinces in pain as she feels the sting of her new tattoo.
Deadheads haven't died out
by Michelle Barghi
Staff Writer
Jerry' Garcia, rock icon and lead
vocalist for thc Grateful Dead, embodied ihe spirit of two generations
of followers.
The Grateful Dead led followers,
dubbed "Deadheads." to the promised
land of good jimes, good friends and
good drugs for nearly three decades.
Garcia died Aug. 9. 1995. one
week after turning 53 years old. Fans
and those who made a living selling
Grateful Dead merchandise
were left wondering. "Whal „„„,
next?"
Alba Alonso. 20. wearing a
T-shirt and smelling of
patchouli oil. left the University of Oregon to become a
groupie.
She traveled to 13 Dead
On air. he's known as "The Monkey." while his sidekick. Wallv Tayar.
is known as "The Engineer." the duo
take iheir names from a song popularized by the Grateful Dead. "Monkey and the Engineer." When they're
not playing the Grateful Dead. Phish
blares from the KFSR airwaves.
Stead has seen Phish in concert.
"This is the closest thing to a Dead
show I've ever seen — all ihe weirdos
and freaks, the happy atmosphere, the
drugs, ihe dancing. Everyone's having a good time and enjoying the
show." Stead said.
1 grew up with the Grateful
Dead. Believe it or not, I've only
been to 50 concerts. That's not very   disc.
many."
mer w ith Bob Weir, former Dead guitarist, and his band. Rat Dog.
The concert has been coined
"Deadapalooza" by fans.
Bill Gomes has owns and operated
the Psychedelic Wizard. 1472 N. Van
Ness Avc.for seven years.
Gomes, puffing on Kool cigarettes
and wearing a black Harley Dav idson
T-shirt, has noticed lhat Grateful Dead
merchandise has tapered off in recent
years.
"Right after Jerry died, this placed
boomed for about two weeks. 1 sell
maybe one or two Grateful Dead T-
l^—JJ>) shirts a week." Gomes said.
The Psychedelic Wizard
has been a labor of love for
bul he realizes the
need to diversify his merchan-
"|The
phoria. I
40.000 (
ross the e
.hows] w
edible thing to see
t 50.000 people all together
for the same reason." Alonso said.
"I think that's what drew a lot of
Deadheads — that unity w ith so many
people. It's very emotional music that
hits your soul," she said.
Although the Grateful Dead can
never be replaced. Phish is one band
trying to fill the void.
The sound of Phish is slightly psychedelic, bluegrass and heavy metal
all at once. Popular with Deadheads
for iheir improvisational sets, they are
known to jam for hours at a lime.
John Stead. 18, is a disc jockey for
campus radio station. KFSR. Sundays
from I a.m. to 3 a.m.
Alonso's view differs slightly.
"I wouldn't travel far to go see
Phish. I like Blues Traveler. Dave
Matthews Band and Jambay. a band
from San Francisco," he said.
Although ihe Grateful Dead has
officially disbanded since Garcia's
death, the band members are pursuing individual projects.'
Phil Lesh. former Dead bassist, has
announced plans to open a gathering
place in San Francisco at Terrapin
Station. The project, which is still in
the works, will be a place for Deadheads to celebrate the music and feeling of the Grateful Dead.
Mickey Hart, former Dead drummer, and his band will unite this sum-
make il selling
. .      Grateful Dead stuff in Fresno.
— bill UOmeS   |, died ou, before he {Garcia]
died. It started taking a dive
about 1991." he said.
The band has long been a part of
Gomes' life.
"I grew up w ith the Grateful Dead.
Believe it or not. I've only been to 50
concerts. That's not very many,"
Gomes said.
Jerry Garcia, in the Sept. 21. 1995
issue of "Rolling Stone," (the Jerry
Garcia tribute) contemplated what life
would be like without him.
"I'm hoping to leave a clean field1
— nothing, not a thing. I'm hoping
they burn il all with me. I'd rather
have my immortality here while I'm
alive. I don't care if it lasts beyond
me at all. I'd just as soon it didn't."
he said.
'Real World' experiences with AIDS, fame and music
By Draeger Martinez
Staff Writer
Even though Mohammed Bilal finished his stint as one of the roommates
for MTV's "The Real World" almost
two years ago, the changes wrought
by the show still affect him.
Dressed in a loose-fitting brown
shirt with a sun pattern, loose dark
blue pants and black leather shoes,
Bilal helped give an AIDS awareness
presentation March 20 at the Residence Dining Hall.
The presentation, attended by approximately 120 students, was arranged by the University Student
Union (USU) lecture coordinator
Veda Ramsay.
Bilal, 25-year-old member of the
hip-hop ensemble Midnight Voices,
•addressed some questions before and
during the performance, while his
bandmate, best friend and co-presenter William "Wil Power" Wylie
answered some afterward.
Let the questions begin
Martinez: Living with Pedro
Zamora on "The Real World" gave
you a first-person perspective on liv
ing with AIDS. How active are you
with AIDS education now in sour
posh"Real World" life?
Bilal: "My mom was a nurse who
worked with a lot of AIDS patients
when I was a teenager in the early 80s.
That was my first real experience in
terms of dealing with it. She insisted
on us using condoms, not because
(unsafe sex] would get somebody
pregnant, but because of this disease
that was spreading, which no one really knew was about."
Martinez: What's it like to travel alt
over the country? Do fteople come up
thinking lhat they know you just from
seeing a few hours of you on videotape ?
Bilal: "It's real strange. In North
Carolina, this woman came up and
started talking to me and said that she
liked me. I said 'thank you and stuff,
I have a girlfriend.' She asked if I
knew when she started liking me, and
I said, 'no, when?"
"She said, •There was this one part,
where Rachel took you to the airport
but you guys went to the wrong airport, and on the way there, at one
point, there were these bars and you
pulled yourself up and at that moment
I decided 1 liked you.'
"I'The Real World'| is that freaky
that I didn't even know what clip she
was talking about. Images and image
manipulation arc a trip, and a lot of
times you accept the images as real.
Trying to see if they're right or ethical can be hard. It's been strange, but
it's been fun, and I get a lot of people
coming around and saying 'what's up'
and we talk. I've met a lot of people
from it."
Audience Q & A:
What was it like living in front of
camera crews for months on end?
Bilal: "1 ended up writing a book
about the whole thing. I even had an
ward MTV told me in so many words
that if I published it. they would sue
me. So you can write a book, but it
seems you can't use the names and likenesses of the other people on the show.
"Cory (Murphy, another 'Real
World' cast member] told me once that
when she was a child, she wanted to
be black. For a young child of color, to
sec a blue-eyed, blond-haired woman
say she had once wanted to be black
— that would have been a deep thing.
"Lots of stuff lhat they cut out. I
couldn't even believe they had cut
that, and we had no say-so in what
did or did nol air."
Afterward with "Wil Power."
Marline:.: In the performance. I
noticed that you took more of a
dominant role than Mohammed in
many parts. Is this also how things
work in Midnight Voices?
Power: "Midnight Voices is basically an ensemble, spearheaded by
me and Mohammed. Most of the
writing and the ideas come from the
two of us, but the actual music is
more collective between us and the
ensemble players. In the studio stuff,
usually he takes a more dominant
role, but sometimes when we're per
forming I take the lead."
Martinez: What's up next for Midnight Voices?
Power: "Well, we're performing at
University of the Pacific on April 19,
and we also got one that night at thc
Press Club in Sacramento.
"But since Midnight Voices is almost as much theater as it is rap and
hip-hop, not only are we playing college towns but also shows at performing art centers, like with thc Bay Area
Dance series.
"We also have a hip-hop musical
play coming in the fall, and we're recording a new album, our third, that
hopefully will be out in the fall."
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