NEIL CAMPAU

Art. Posters. Video. Electrician. Drawings. Anti-Political. Words. Writing. Parenting. Mixtapes. Travel. Death. Destruction. DIY. Thoughts. Questions. Zines. Analysis. People. Whatever. Etc.

[gimmetinnitus]

Every cop is a pile of shit by Electrician

[neilcampau]

When I was 17, my parents gave me a guitar. Within a couple days, I learned a few chords and wrote a song called "The Shoe Song." The first few lines went, "I'm getting stepped on, the crowd doesn't see, the ground below them, the life below the knee." (LOL). I still play it sometimes, but, besides my parents, only like 5 people have ever heard it. This past june/july, I spent a month at Rozz-Tox QC and wrote and recorded some songs. The album in its entirety sort of reminds me of the first song I ever wrote. I put a lot of myself into it. It'd be super-fab if you'd take a moment to listen. It's only like 21 minutes long and it's FREE to download.

[neilcampau]

I finished this video last night. It's track 5 from the album I'm releasing tomorrow. Filmed it at yellowstone with the vhs camcorder that I used to make stuff with all the time like 15 years ago.

[neilcampau]

This is a song from an album that I’m releasing in 6 days.

[neilcampau]

DoDIY.org exists to support DIY venues, promoters, musicians, performers, speakers, artists, and activists who are looking for like-minded folks around the world. Support the project by pledging at www.patreon.com/neilcampau.

[neilcampau]

Year after year, people line up at the polling booths.

And, year after year, those same people continue to be disappointed with life under capitalist democracy.

The atrocities committed by governments (and their minions) in the name of “democracy.” The politicians who never [ever] keep their promises. The compromises made in order to find “common ground.”

Year after year, folks continue the cycle and, every year, I’m infinitely amazed that it’s all happening again.

[neilcampau]

I recorded this song over the last couple days, in the alley between my motorhome and my friends' house in Austin TX. It's strange and jazzy. Ellen sang some LALAs. You can download it for free.

[neilcampau]

In celebration of National Boss' Day, I'd like to sincerely thank all of my former bosses.

My first on-the-books job started at age 12 and, now at age 34, I've had the chance to know so many of you. Thanks for the exhaustion. Thanks for instilling fear. Thanks for years of paternalism and exploitation. Thanks for your strong adherence to company directives and corporate policies. Thanks for the back pain. Thanks for your phony comradery. Thanks for the threats. And, most of all, just thanks for being yourself. You're real winners. If I could, I would reward you all with extended unpaid leave and a solid punch in the face. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Thank you.

[neilcampau]

This man at the bar I'm at was having so much trouble finding an outlet to plug his laptop into and then couldn't figure out how to log-on to the internet.

He literally spent a half hour or so trying to sort it all out. I eventually helped him and he was extremely grateful. After all that, he just spent 10 minutes watching black and white videos of people in fancy clothes dancing on youtube and now he's packing up to leave. SO CUTE.

[neilcampau]

I just typed "Are you fucking serious?" twice in a public conversation with Joe Biel (or maybe one of his minions, if he has those).

I better stop before I get in yet another internet drama. Cricket's going to wake up soon and then I can go to a park. I should probably start reading books while Cricket's napping, instead of surfing the internet. I just end up watching police brutality videos and getting really, really mad. Joe seemed like a good target for letting out my rage for the day.

[neilcampau]

Yes, I have noticed some very drastic changes in my life, since I became a parent.

One thing I've noticed is that I spend a lot more time scouting for potential piles of feces in the grass than in previous years. Cricket always seems to find them first though.

[neilcampau]

I've never told this to anyone before.

Sometimes I buy things and afterward feel annoyed that the thing was overpriced or that I had to pay for it at all. After I pay the cashier, I'll go to the bathroom, leave all the lights on and the faucet running, just to help offset any profits that were made.

[neilcampau]

I'm watching the white bearded man, in his pastel-colored golf shorts, tend his "urban garden" on one of the balconies of a newly-built condo building.

He takes a break to walk across the street to the small park where Cricket is playing on an unkept jungle gym. Nearby, several house-less folks are napping in the grass and on benches, digging through the trash, and asking passerbys for change. He sets his two tiny yipping dogs free to roam the park. A slender, brown-skinned man asks the pastel-shorts-wearing man for 85-cents. He says, "Sorry, I can't help you." Each dog takes a big shit on the lawn, the man puts them back on their leashes, and they all walk home.

[neilcampau]

This cop just told me that I couldn't be parked on the street in Austin.

This was all based off of some laws that he had made up. I recited the actual city ordinances to him. Cricket and I had to brodown with him for like thirty minutes because he was calling around to city offices to see if I was right. Anyway, while we were waiting, the cop got uncomfortably close to us and Cricket sneezed on him. I wish I could say I taught him that.

[neilcampau]

We were parked in an empty parking lot, next to a seemingly abandoned building.

Ellen and I were doing some work on our laptops while Cricket took a nap on my belly. We heard a knock at the door. Ellen opened the door and it was a cop. He asked us what we were doing. She said, "We're just hanging out." He said that we were "trespassing on private property." It may have been because I attempted to slam the door in his face. It may have been because of various things I said to him. No one really knows. It was intense. But, after he threatened us with drug dogs and ran our IDs, he told us to leave town. Not to get off private property. He told us to get entirely out of town. It was some old west sheriff pig shit.  He might as well have said, "You have until sundown. You're not wanted in these parts." We were just kicked out of Junction, Texas.

[neilcampau]

Yesterday, some lady saw me and Cricket buying some sodas at a general store in Ozona TX.

Ten minutes later, she chased us down and gave me a ten dollar bill. She said, "I saw you at the store. And he's just so cute. Good luck." I was quite confused, but, of course, graciously accepted the cash. Maybe we're starting to look a bit road-worn. Or maybe she noticed that I had dressed Cricket in only an animal print diaper cover and a t-shirt that was way too small for him. Or maybe it's just normal for people to give money to the parents when they see a really cute baby. I dunno, I'm sort of knew to this parenting stuff.

[neilcampau]

I've had various things yelled at me, while I'm walking, from windows of cars passing by.

This isn't astonishing. I'm sure many of you (especially female-bodied folks) experience this much more than I. Anyway, usually folks stick with basics and scream "fag" or, the more formal, "faggot". Sure, OK, I get it. You think I'm cute and you would like to get to know me better. Poor communication skills, but I get it. But, the first thing that someone screamed at me from a moving vehicle in Texas was: "What the fuck are you looking at?" I wasn't even looking at them! But then I looked at them and they slowed down and looked at me really intensely. Texans, is this your equivalent of the more common "faggot" greeting that friendly drivers in other states usually yell at me? Or am I totally off base here?