I've been reading the Easy Reader for probably as long as it's been in existence, but that's over now. It's now a garbage can liner in my book.
I even used to write a column for them, back in my college days when I was a journalism major, but they have recently violated the boundaries of good taste and journalistic responsibility when they without cause trashed my band Cubensis, our fans, and the band we pay tribute to, the Grateful Dead.
Their "reviewer" Ryan Beachkowski crossed the border of decency in his June 19 article, which didn't critique the band except to rant that he'd hated Grateful Dead music for a good 40 years, calling it "heroin-induced," and instead he turned his rage on our innocent fans, whom he called "bad for business," unwashed, smelly, high on drugs and too cheap to buy drinks at a bar.
Little did Beachkowski know that when he deliberately maligned and insulted a whole class of people with his near-racist remarks, they would stand up for themselves and call his article what it was, offensive, intolerant anti-60's rhetoric bordering on libel.
The people he called "unwashed" confronted him with the fact that most of them are professional businessmen and women, many drive high-end cars and earn multiples of what Beachkowski must steal from the Easy Reader for his unprofessional drivel. They in fact bathe regularly, buy all the drinks they want in a bar, and enjoy the band Cubensis for a multitude of reasons, and they don't appreciate being degraded for their choice of entertainment by someone who claims his favorite music is "death metal" like Pulse of the Maggot, whose name more describes Beachkowski's intelligence than anything.
More than the writer, I blame entertainment editor Bondo and ultimately publisher Kevin Cody for their abject failure to do their job and keep their writers within the bounds of decency. It's funny: Cubensis has been trying to get a writeup in the Easy Reader for years. I would call Bondo and invite him to lunch so we could discuss the band, but he wouldn't even give me the courtesy of a reply.
Bondo's never going to fully admit that the article was harmful excrement. I LOVE how he declares we now "have a story about us" in his rag, like this is what we had in mind. Maybe I'll write a story about his heritage and about how inept he is in performing the duties of his profession, and even go so far as to say the people that actually read the crap he writes are filthy unwashed scumbags. Then, we'll publish it in the paper for all to see. This is essentially what he's done to US, so let's see if he enjoys his "story" as much as he thinks we should ours. Only the fact that I am a decent human being will prevent me from actually following through with that idea, but he would deserve it.
Even though he's heard protests from over 200 fans by now, it's pretty clear that Bondo is flippantly trying to downplay the whole thing, minimize it, and actually joke about it. He suggests that the article was so over the top, it couldn't possibly be taken seriously. That's very convenient for HIM, but I won't be satisfied until the paper properly and completely validates that what the reporter did was inappropriate and outrageous, and wasn't even good enough to be called "yellow journalism". They need to issue a complete retraction, not just print a few letters to the editor like Bondo claims will happen next week, and they also should print an unbiased and fair review of the band.
However, someone's going to have to tell me about it, because I will never again pick up a copy of an alleged newspaper which without justification seeks to tear down an established, popular band and its fans, and whose writer even has the gall to criticize other members of the press who have written favorably about the band.
The "Easy Reader" is in the end not so easy to read. Please boycott this publication. read more
