Sean Aaron Bowers

Sean Aaron Bowers, aka Johnny No Bueno, is an ex-street-tough turned writer and social critic

[seanaaronbowers]

Check out my latest review of the Derringer from Praxis Vapors.

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[seanaaronbowers]

[seanaaronbowers]

Ars Tumblr

Thrown into the ether someone said once I always wondered  if they were talking about the same ether as the base of the cocaine I used to buy from Hondurans in shitty Japanese cars who tooled around in the Southeast Portland summers all mariachi and Carl's Jr. bags We called it tinfoil dope because it was wrapped in plastic then in tinfoil then in a balloon Isn't this the same thing a bunch of people sharing corrosive shit made of plastic shiny like tinfoil in a balloonesque bubble for the masses to consume when they run of shit to live for So we throw it into the ether and hope some poor lonely schmuck relates to it, pushes  the little like, heart, share now :bread: and we get to feel worth  if only for a  few minutes

[seanaaronbowers]

Save Slabtown!

I only have two followers, so I am counting on you guys. Slabtown is owned by a dear friend of mine. It is the best bar/venue Portland has seen in years. They have skee-ball, they have pinball, they have an all vegan menu, they have all-ages shows, they have a lot of booze. I had my book release at Slabtown. I couldn't imagine having it anywhere else. Help save my friends vision. Help save the backbone fo the Portland music/arts/activism scene. Help save Slabtown.

http://www.gofundme.com/SaveSlabtown

[penamerican]

Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood exposed to readers that even the “most despicable of characters have a chance of redemption.”

Which Banned Book reshaped your worldview?

[seanaaronbowers]

rancidofficial

As a squatter junkie drunk punk for the formative years of my life, liking Rancid was forbidden. "Not real punk" they said, "Sellouts" they called them. I hid my love for their breadth of musical talent. I was embarrassed by my friends vilification contrasted by my lust for their infectious rhythm.

But every album, every song, I am convinced more and more that they are truly the voice of my generation, my people. Yes, even the squatters. So fuck all with hair-gelled hipsters in spikes, or the grimy Franzia drinking bridge dwelling burn-outs. Rancid has done it, yet again. Great shit boys. Thanks for all the years of hard work.

[seanaaronbowers]

Ugh . . .

I am up way too late. Have to be in 6 hours to work at a job I already put my two-weeks-notice in, only to lose time that I should be moving, all the while school starts back up this week and I have a whole new campus to get used to. My last post was supposed to be posted yesterday but I got caught up too late and had to pull out. So this is just my attempt at trying to blog at least once a day. So with that disclaimer, I will bid you all goodnight. 

[seanaaronbowers]

The World Screams for More Iris Berry

I just spent a week in San Francisco. The main reasons for the trip were recovery, tattoo and friend related. However, anytime I am in the City I am also guided by the scent of a bookstore. One Monday, as I made my way down Mission, seeing what the gentrification had done to my old stomping grounds, Bucky Sinister suggested I go check out Alley Cat Books down 24th. After the noon time 12 step meeting I attended for shits and giggles, I made my way down 24th and into the shop. I B-lined for the poetry section. It was well stocked, but with your assumed San Franciscan titles and authors. I love Ginsberg, Coleman, and Bukowski as much as the next guy, but come on. You are in the same town as City Lights; find a different niche.

And that is when I stumbled upon the small press section. Instantly I was drawn to A. Razor, a friend of Bucky's, as well as someone I had started paying close attention to since the inception of Punk Hostage Press. That is when I found that I had struck the Punk Hostage goldmine. Alley Cat Books must have been carrying their whole catalog. I weaseled my way out of there with three titles; one of Razor's, one of Berry's and another whose name I can't remember but the title 8th and Agony I will never forget.

I am making my way through Razor's book, and am finding it quite abstract. It is an easily followed narrative with a gangster-like coded language that makes the reader want to decipher it to it, and it can't be ignored or brushed-off. Often times I found myself wondering if the writer, whom I have had the privilege of meting and befriending, was holding back from giving the full blow. There is an edge, but most of all an inescapable humanness to it. All in all, I am fully enjoying it. 

But holy shit, Iris Berry. Very easy to read, very fast paced, very enthralling, as she is a master story teller. I read the book in two sittings, and was greatly disappointed that there wasn't more to the book. I am praying for a further installment. A product of the 70's comes roaring into the 80's with a chip on it's shoulder and high heels on, and it's name is Iris Berry. And boy does she have some stories to tell.

I also recieved a limited edition copy of illustrated book written by Jack Grisham of TSOL fame. I greatly look forward ot diving into that once I am moved. I also see that they have published a book by SA Griffin which I am beyond excited to pick up. A few months ago I had the privilege of reading with Punk Hostage Press author Alexandra Naughton here in Portland and her work from I Will Always Be Your Whore: Love Songs for Billy Corgan, and I was greatly impressed.

It is turning out that Punk Hostage Press has risen from the ashes of it's contributors past lives to become a wrecking ball of a small press. I am gleefully awaiting to see what the future has in store for Punk Hostage Press.

http://punkhostagepress.com/

[fleurdulys]

[seanaaronbowers]

Brilliant

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A Fresh Start

So over the last three years I seem to have been in a constant state of flux. Granted my trajectory has proven to be somewhat linear, I still feel as if I took a shit ton too many detours. So in the last year and half, having been on girlfriend island, stopping writing, taking up vaping, having my heart shit on, healing; and now starting my first semester at PSU, picking up writing again (after a long overdue trip to San Francisco and Oakland), moving back into North Portland, and going back to the bookstore that I love so much; I feel it was time for a thinning of the herd. 

I had picked up too many acquaintances and not enough friends. I had acquired too many alias' and too many personas. I realized I had four Twitter accounts and three tumblr accounts. So I condensed them all into one of each. Next I am going to start shedding loose weight on Facebook. 

(I must pause quickly to recognize the ridiculousness of taking social media so seriously, that when changing ones approach to it becomes an actual cathartic and introspective process, we may have completely lost touch with all reality. Now back to your regularly programmed diatribe.)

Anyway, it is time. I have seen too many of my so-called friends stab me in the back. I have watched people I used to hate become the best allies. I experienced learning to hate old joys and find solace in the things that used to make me bristle with antagonism. So this is my fresh start. Thanks to no one but my-damn-self.