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The Juneau Report

Last autumn, Geek Weekly sent Jenna Dickinson to Alaska to scope out Juneau's
hot punk rock scene we'd been hearing so much about. She's been on the case for
months, and it seems we've been grossly misinformed. So Jenna decided to see
what would happen if she turned the town on to some real music. She got a show
on the low-power community radio station, KBJZ. Knowing her and hearing from
her about Alaska, I'd be willing to bet that she's turned on more folks than the
music has, but hey, she digs spinnin' the wax!

Jenna recently sat down with rocker Collette Costa, talked about some crap, and
submitted this report:

Juneau
is a secluded place, not connected by road to another city. Instead of three escape
options, land, water and air, you can only fly or ferry out of here. In the parallel
universe of Juneau, some of the local cultural pursuits are potlucks, drinking, achiev-ing spectacular facial hair growth, outdoorsmanship and folk music. I will nowonly attempt to briefly touch on each of these topics.

Potlucks are an easy way to lure people out of their warm houses on a long, dark
winter night, when instinct is compelling them to stay. They are great places to
meet the excellent people of this town, the folks that you will definitely see tomor-
row at the grocery store, a garage sale and at the bar.

If you come drinking in Juneau, you should patronize the Alaskan Hotel and Bar,
a former brothel back in the brawling gold mining days. I think this is the drinkingest town I've ever lived in. I have no way to prove anything, I've just been drunker here than anywhere else. It's not altitude - there are mountains all around, but we're at sea level here, so I don't know why this is, perhaps it's the salty air.

The well-dressed Alaskan tucks his pants into knee-high rubber Xtra-Tuff boots and cultivates a big wooly beard. Another look is the old-timey prospector, achieved by adding a leather vest and a walking stick adorned with the tails of animals you've apparently trapped. I cannot grow a beard, and don't condone the practice in general, for most people - unless they got the part in the new Grizzly Adams series.

I'm not comfortable with sports that require "gear," but I've ventured out often enough, keeping in mind the potential for death from bears, avalanches, or exposure, and my general lack of training on these topics I acquired during my former

Spring 2003 11

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