Finally! THE NE’ER-DO-WELL has conquered its crippling social phobias and is ready to meet you!
Join us this Friday, August 27th, at the Rock Out to Walk Out, a night of stories and music and beer to benefit ILWU Local 5 – that’s the branch of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union whose members are workers at Powell’s Books and Aramark. With the next round of contract negotiations coming up in 2011, the goal of the benefit is to raise money for the Local’s strike fund, which ensures that workers aren’t left destitute should a strike occur.
This night also celebrates the release of two fantastic projects:
THE NE’ER-DO-WELL presents a special issue of working-class stories that cast a fresh light on the absurdity, banality, and redemption of contemporary wage-slavery, and includes brand-new stories and essays from favorite local authors, including Willy Vlautin (Lean on Pete), Kevin Sampsell (A Common Pornography), Suzanne Burns (Misfits and Other Heroes), Gigi Little (Portland Noir), Chris A. Bolton (Smash!), and others.
L5Artworks presents the first volume of THE LITTLE RED ALBUM, a CD compilation of classic union protest-songs that have been given a modern makeover (which, since this is Portland, means they’re all wearing moustaches).
The CD and lit mag will both be on sale at the event — and all proceeds will go straight to the strike fund!
Here’s the deets:
What: ILWU Local 5’s Rock Out to Walk Out
Where: The Cleaners at the Ace Hotel (SW 10th and Stark, downtown Portland, Oregon)
When: Friday, August 27, 2010, 5pm-2am
Entertainment: Happy hour from 5 to 7pm, with music from the Bop Out to Walk Out jazz quartet and readings from THE NE’ER-DO-WELL (Kevin Sampsell, Sheila Ashdown, and Suzanne Burns). From 7pm to 2am, live music from General Strike, Nate Ashley and the Landlines, ¡Ay, Claudia!, Michael Ford, The Middle Ages, Shaky Hands, and DJ Anjali & The Incredible Kid.
Admission: Sliding scale, $5-to-$5 billion