Music & Culture
Music & Culture
Essays and journalism exploring music, food culture, identity, and the stories that shape how we see ourselves.
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Smells, Rats, and the Shows of a Lifetime: The Old 9:30 Club
WILDSAM, 2026
These days, the 9:30 Club is an internationally recognized cultural institution. Let's just say there were…challenges getting there.
Article originally published in Wildsam (forthcoming)How Hard Could It Be? The Story of Micro-Frets, Upstart Electric Guitar Brand
FRETBOARD JOURNAL ISSUE #58, 2026
William Meadors was once a guitar-obsessed teen from Frederick, MD. In midlife, he had an inspiration: Why not revive the local Micro-Frets brand? After all, how hard could it be to mass-produce electric guitars from scratch?
Article originally published in Fretboard JournalThe Tree No One Could See: How My Friend's Sexual Assault Changed Everything
ANOTHER JANE PRATT THING, 2025
I thought I'd put my prep school years behind me, but the election brought back an ugly memory: My favorite teacher, the girl from my neighborhood, and the weight of silence.
Article originally published in Another Jane Pratt Thing'They were part of my sinew': Empire, the British band who changed the 80s without you knowing it
THE GUARDIAN, 2023
Awkward, unambitious and with only one album, the trio still left a huge mark, influencing the Stone Roses as well as the entire DC hardcore scene. Empire retell their story, while Fugazi's Guy Picciotto explains their impact.
Article originally published in The GuardianThe Most Famous Shot in Rock & Roll
COVER ME SONGS, 2018
In 1967, high school junior Ed Caraeff heard about a "rock and roll festival" up the coast in Monterey. With the help of a borrowed camera, he took the photograph of a lifetime.
Article originally published in Cover Me SongsDC Punk History: Print Essays
ESSAYS, 2017 – 2026
Print-only essays on DC punk history, published in Akashic, Hozac, Microcosm presses and Maggot Brain magazine.