Jason Pettigrew

I can’t remember if it was Benjamin Franklin or Sonny Barger who said that. I’ve got so much going on and none of it I’m allowed to tell you about—yet. This phenomenon is borne out of professional courtesy and the conscientious desire not to carpetbag anyone’s thunder. It’s as if the info leak somehow blunts the official announcement six months down the road. So I have been told. It is better to ask permission than to seek forgiveness: Do it the other way and see how many times your phone rings in this desperate gig economy. Like if I told you I did a 7000-word retrospective for an 8 LP box set by The Screaming Blue Messiahs way before the first vinyl slab was cut in the mastering lab. But really, I would never do that to my fave band in life. Mainly because, well, I already did…

What can I tell you about? The new issue of SPIN is out into the world and I’m economically bloviating about AVTT/PTTN, as well as addressing the raison d’etre of three really great records by Converge, Kim Gordon and Squeeze. And in this month’s Vinyl Countdown column, I uncover at least 12 good reasons to leave a pile of shaved credit-card microplastic at your fave record store (or memorize your Visa/Mastercard deets on retail websites). Deftones are on the cover, and I would like to give a shoutout to writer Steve Appleford to whom I once assigned a story on The Fever333 in my previous life. And I am always grateful to Jon Cohen and Bob Guccione Jr. for setting me a place at their table.

I told Frank Zummo that there is nothing I would love more in life than to wait 47 hours in a TSA line to come to Chicago to help him and the School Of Rock Chicago team celebrate the existence of our collaboration, Unbreakable Rhythm, available from the movers and shakers at Modern Drummer. So if you’re in Chicago during the first weekend of May, go see Zummo put the pedal to the electro-metal with Electric Callboy on Sunday (5/3) and then hang out with us and the denizens of School Of Rock on Monday (5/4) at 5pm for Zummo Fest ‘26 at Reggie’s Rock Club (2105 S. State Street, Chicago). It’s an early evening of jamming and some meaningful rap-seshing. In the book, Frank wishes that there was a School Of Rock he could’ve found sanctuary in when he was growing up and he had to endure all the jagoffs of the world bullying him. His commitment to spread potential and joy to emerging generations is iron-clad and his enthusiasm is highly infectious. And if you haven’t been there yet (or even if you have, you missed some stuff), schedule a Saturday (5/2) visit to The Post-Punk and Industrial Museum, curated and coordinated by Martin Atkins. Now if I could only get these drumming plasma-burners in the same room at the same time…

Work continues on the liner notes for Filth Pig and Dark Side Of The Spoon, the final two entries in Rhino Records’ reissue program of the shapeshifting post-punk/electronic/industrial/metal juggernaut Ministry. Al Jourgensen says the band will be performing Filth Pig in its entirety during the band’s sets at this year’s Sick New World fests in Vegas and Texas. I wonder if they’re going to pull out the non-lp b-side “Paisley” for all the nerd-faithful? Does anybody remember when Al and Paul Barker and buds pulled off a pretty wonderful cover of the Grateful Dead’s “Friend Of The Devil” for Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit in 1995, a few months before Filth Pig’s release? Talk about a fuk’n curveball…

OK, look: If you’ve made it this far, I’ll give you a little more insight into my next plans. I’ve been approached to see if I’d be into participating in a series of rock readings by some ambitious gentlemen with fine books of their own. (I hope I can get at least one loaded WaWa card out of the deal.) I’m writing three project bios for people whose work and friendship I admire greatly. I don’t know how visible the pieces are going to be: If I’m allowed, I may reprint them here. I also finished some brief liners for another awesome outfit who have a reissue happening and I did a sizable essay on behalf of a legacy rock outfit. Anybody who knows me has heard me shower black mamba venom about how much I despise American ‘70s classic rock. (For those keeping score at home, the #2 position in my personal hate parade is Richard Blade.) But this project was a dream come true.

Now let me ask you this: What would you want to see here at ptgrw.com? Op pieces? Raves about cool stuff I discovered? Interviews that didn’t see the light of day because “Don’t waste our time, nobody is going to click on that, Jason…”? Better yet, where would you like to see it? Substack? Livejournal? Myspace? Makeoutclub?  And another thing—forgive me for making the 25 or so keystrokes to relay this: Should I start a podcast?

Hit me up at janitor@ptgrw.com and help me be a friendly bookmark and not a time-suck. Remember to kiss your pets, caress your lovers and love your friends until you die. 

I am pleased to tell you my contribution to Bloomsbury's renowned 33 1/3 series—Ministry's The Land Of Rape And Honey—is back in print!  Apparently it was made available again on Feb 11 and is currently on sale from Bloomsbury right here. Thank you to everyone who bought it and supported my endeavor.  Hey, now that this thing is back in print, what do you think: Should I get in the car and come to your town to talk about it? It'll be a year old in May, but hey, bands are out on tour for two years to sell the merch surrounding their latest recs. What, you think I'm better than them?

Also: There's a good chance I will be joining Frank Zummo at the School Of Rock in Chicago on May 4. Frank knows I have a long rider which includes two cases of San Pellegrino lemonade, an on-demand chef at an omelette station and $500 worth of gift cards to Reckless Records. Hey, you know me: I'm worth it. RIGHT?

All runt-fronting aside, more stuff is happening that I can't tell you about just yet. I promise it is not boring. And if you need words for something, hit me up at janitor@ptgrw.com

[webmistress note: photo of book signed by Al J. for @dorzuta (Instagram)]