Toledo Local Flavor: CITIZEN PROFILE
Jeff Nelson
Jeff Nelson, ex-drummer of Minor Threat, moved to Toledo in 2003 after discovering the Old West End during a visit from Washington D.C.—where he continues to commute for business (he runs Dischord Records), hugging buffalo and probably pizza too.
"My father was in the Foreign Service, and was on loan to the United Nations for 4 years, so I grew up around the world. I was born in South Africa, and lived in Hungary, Iran and Afghanistan. Washington, DC was always home base in between tours of duty. It was two years after coming back to the States for good that I met my friend Ian MacKaye at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, DC. It was a public high school, majority black, and going there was an experience I wouldn't trade for the World. Ian and I became friends through music and skateboarding, and when we were in 11th grade we started our first band together, The Slinkees. I played drums and Ian played bass. We played only one show before the singer left for college, and once we found a new singer we became The Teen Idles. In our next band, Minor Threat, Ian switched to singing. We also started a record company at this point, Dischord Records, to put out the Teen Idles 7" record, which we knew no one else was going to release. Though we can scarcely believe it sometimes, here we are 25 years later, still friends and still running Dischord together."
Describe the events leading up to your move into the Old West End of Toledo...
Well, I must have been really ready to move somewhere. I'd wanted a Victorian mansion ever since I was a teenager, and had investigated several cities over the years as places I might buy one. (The houses I wanted to live in in DC were either WAY too expensive or in really sketchy neighborhoods.) I looked at Portland (Maine), Pittsburgh, Baltimore, upstate New York, and central Virginia, but housing stock-wise, none captivated me quite as much as Toledo did.
Other than staying in Maumee, Ohio in 1981 with local punk band The Necros, (which I never even realized was a suburb of Toledo), my first visit to Toledo was in August of 2002. Over the last 13 years I've become obsessed with Jeep Wagoneers, for their ruggedness and Tonka Toy simplicity. I had heard about a big 3-day Jeep Jamboree in Colorado, where they were celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Jeep J-Series. (which include Wagoneers, Cherokees, and Gladiator pickup trucks.) On the final day there was to be a big BBQ, and it was on my 40th birthday! Obviously, I had to attend. I put together a huge exhibit about the history of the Wagoneer, and found a friend willing to go. The first stop on drive out in my 1991 Jeep Grand Wagoneer was Toledo!
I knew they had been tearing down much of the old Willys/Jeep plant, and I was SO disappointed to have missed seeing it torn down by only 2 weeks. (It still makes me sick to think that they will probably tear down the rest of it, including the glorious "Overland" smokestacks) We stopped and took pictures of the plant, and then we went to the Toledo Museum of Art. I had been told of a great exhibit "The Alliance of Art and Industry: Toledo Designs for a Modern America." I knew the exhibit had already left the Museum, but a nice woman named Julia Habrecht there was kind enough to have sent me the wonderful exhibit catalog. I wanted to see the Museum and say thanks to her. I was stunned by the Museum, and by the Peristyle. Julia gave us a nice little tour of the Museum, and then I asked her my stock question, which I'd asked of many people in different cities over the years. I said "So, are there are big, cheap Victorians in Toledo?" She looked at me like I was kidding, and took us over the marble steps along Monroe Street. She said "Right there - the Old West End!" The next thing I knew my friend and I were driving through the neighborhood, our jaws having dropped to the floor. I had the same reaction any outsider has when first seeing this neighborhood - "Oh, my, God!" I just couldn't believe it.
My visit to the Old West End made a big impression on me, and the seed was planted for the next summer, when I decided I really needed to build an addition onto my small house or buy a big Victorian somewhere. My girlfriend at the time encouraged me to follow what was clearly a bigger dream for me, so we came to visit Toledo during the Old West End Festival in June of 2003. I had looked up real estate on-line, and had contacted a realtor named Ed Hoffman about showing us some houses. We saw several houses, of all sizes and styles and in all price ranges. Then we went on the Historic Homes Tour as part of the Festival, and I was immediately smitten by the Frederick Paddock house. I was on the porch, waiting to be allowed inside, and I already knew I wanted to live there.
One thing led to another, and even though the house was not on the market, I made an offer and ended up buying the place! It has been quite an eye-opening experience, actually owning such a huge house and being responsible for its upkeep.
Since relocating, you've quickly immersed yourself in the Toledo community, for instance The Old West End Festival. What local activites/organizations are you involved in?
Yes, when I first got here, I volunteered for a few too many things at once for the Festival. It was overwhelming, but I also met an awful lot of great people that way. I can't say I'm really involved in too many other activities locally, except maybe joining the Museum and supporting the local PBS station. In general, I have shied away from immersing myself in local politics, until I feel like I understand the setting and the players a little more. It is a VERY different climate here, politically, than I am used to! I guess I've been getting to know some of the people in the NW Ohio Peace Coalition.
Do you find it difficult managing your duties at Dischord in D.C. while located here? Are you finding advantages to this new "remote working"?
There have been a few things that have been tough about working remotely, and we've had to adjust how we do some things or who does them. Much of the work I do could be done from anywhere, though, so that hasn't been too big of an issue so far. We are also in an industry who is in the midst of big changes, as less physical records are sold, and more stuff is done digitally, so I suspect it will matter less and less where one does one's work from. Certain things cannot be done remotely, such as getting to know the people who are in bands, hearing their music, deciding if we could work together amiably. Since we are known for putting out music by D.C.-area bands, my business partner Ian ends up handling most of that. The only "advantage" I can think of to being able to work remotely is the one everyone would already be familiar with - the ability to be able to work from anywhere. For some that would be working at a laptop computer while sitting on the beach in the Bahamas. For me, currently, it's being able to work from and own a beautiful house I could never have been able to afford in a million years in the D.C. area.
Locals would say Toledo has a thriving music scene... how do you see it coming from a larger metropolitan city?
I don't think I would the best judge of that, because I really don't go to that many shows. I think Toledo has some really, really good bands, and some great clubs, and is therefore not really lacking in anything necessary to have fun, or to "make it" as a band. I think there is an apathy here sometimes that is very sad, I don't know why that is.
In the early years of the D.C. punk scene, there were very few places willing to let our bands have shows, and no radio support. Everyone said you had to move to New York or Los Angeles to make it. We thought that was dumb - we liked our city and thought we had great bands and believed in ourselves. There are obviously far more bands and far more clubs in a bigger city, but I also think people in those cities get spoiled as a result. When there are too many shows to choose from, each one is less-well attended and seems less special.
The changes in the music industry and in being able to work remotely via the Internet mentioned earlier have also obviously had a vast impact on things a band can do. It doesn't matter where you live - your music can be heard, and your presence made available on the Internet. If you really expect your band to grow, you'll still have to tour and build a fan base, but then you can keep them interested via updates and web-based stuff, regardless of whether you live in Toledo or New York. Almost every musician I've ever known lives pretty hand-to-mouth, so in some ways, Toledo's VERY affordable housing (whether renting or owning) is perfect for people in bands.
Visitors to the Old West End would be hard-pressed to miss the large signs in front of your beautiful victorian home, which document deaths in Iraq of both civilians and in the U.S. military. What prompted you to display these and has the neighborhood been supportive?
Yes, in general, most of the neighbors and passers-by have been supportive. An earlier version of my Wounded/Dead tally boards were smashed flat to the ground two nights in a row last year. My reaction was to make them much stronger and more beautiful. It is sad to think that I will probably have to have my signs up for many, many years because this completely unnecessary, completely-predictably unwinnable war is going to drag on and on unless the American people rise up and demand the troops be pullled out. There is already a Civil War going on, we just won't admit it. We should pull out NOW, and instead of paying Halliburton billions and billions, we should hire Muslim contractors from Iraq and surrounding countries. Right now our very presence is the problem, so we need to leave Iraq (AND Saudi Arabia AND Kuwait). Even though we cannot afford it, it is our moral responsibility to rebuild the country we destroyed. It will be a long time mending fences, but this would be a start.
I guess the impetus for my making and continuing to display the signs in my yard is the same that led me to fight against Edwin Meese (Attorney General under Reagan) and Oliver North (when he ran for Senate in Virginia). The feeling of being powerless and voiceless in the face of inept leadership is too much for me to take sometimes. I've long been very politically aware, due to my upbringing and years spent overseas and in Washington. I certainly always make it a point to vote, but it is only every once in awhile that things get so bad that the people must raise their voices and really get involved to affect change. This Bush presidency has so clearly been the most corrupt, inept, and misguided administration in the history of the United States. The directions taken have been drastically, painfully wrong in basically every arena imaginable. In foreign relations alone, it is devastating to think of how the popularity of the U.S. has plummeted in just the last 6 years. We went from being basically admired and emulated, if not envied, to being despised and feared. The harm Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rove, Rice, Wolfowitz, Abrams, Perle, etc., have done will take decades and decades to be repaired, if it can even be repaired.
In my view, therefore, it is impossible to stress enough how important it is that the Democrats win the House and Senate this November. Then it will be crucial to win the White House in 2008 and keep it in 2012. One of my big fears is the Democrats will win, and then 4 or 6 years later, when they have not been able to fix overnight the mind-boggling problems created by the Bush administration, the stupid half of this country will say "Oh, see - we gave you Democrats a chance, and see what you did?" Then they would vote and give us 12 more years of selfish Republican rule, like under Reagan/Bush. I do not think the Democrats are perfect - far from it. But the difference between the parties is stark, and the choice obvious for a better, safer, happier World. And voting for someone like Nader is very much ignoring the reality of the 2-party system we've got. The system is not perfect, but it's what we've got, it CAN work, and we're STUCK with it anyway.
It's commonly recognized that the loss of arts and intellectual scenes in any city coincide with a decline for that city economically, etc. In your opinion how is Toledo doing? And, what could the city of Toledo do to help slow the "brain drain"?
I think Toledo is definitely hurting. I think it goes both ways, though. I think the lack of extra pocket money in Toledo is a big part of what makes it hard for little galleries, restaurants, antique stores to survive. Also, the number of small downtown buildings that continue to be lost or are bargained away is really distressing. The proposed site for the new arena, for instance, will necessitate the destruction of the Bijou/Underground and several other small, "insignificant" buildings. I would agree a struggling city needs to prioritize, but with SO many parking lots and vacant areas, surely no more small buildings need to come down. Without the little storefront buildings, this city does not stand a chance. It is already a huge gamble for someone to open a small business in an existing little building in Toledo. In addition to the character given a city by its melange of small structures, it is cost-prohibitive to build such small buildings now.
One idea I've had (and I'm sure I'm not the first) is to bring busloads of artists, musicians, graphic designers, website designers, etc., from big cities with expensive housing such as New York, Boston, Washington, D.C.. During the spring have promotions in those cities, for an all-expenses paid trip to Toledo. Have big, comfortable buses bring them here for a 3 or 4-day trip, possibly during the Old West End Festival or the German-American Festival. Give them free tickets to Mudhens games, tours of the Art Museum, or the Zoo, Shorty's BBQ, free tickets to the Toledo Symphony in the Peristyle, $100 gift certificates to The Andersons, day outings with free kayaking or boating or visits to wineries at Lake Erie. Then, of course, you would also have open houses all over the place, both houses and commercial buildings for sale being shown, to demonstrate JUST HOW AFFORDABLE Toledo can be! Along the way I'm sure these people would meet many of Toledo's nice residents, who would help show them that Toledo can indeed be a nice place to live. I do not think that even if this took place and worked, and 100 people moved here and bought properties, that all of Toledo's economic woes would be solved, but even a small infusion of dedicated, excited artists/entrepreneurs would be a big shot in the arm for Toledo. I would love to work on such a project, if sponsors could be found.
I also think Toledo needs to somehow get HEAVILY into Solar Energy manufacturing, expanding on the fact that one of the biggest solar panel production facilities is already in the area. Give those companies the same kind of bending-over backwards incentives Jeep was given, and that O-I was offered. This entire country is in decline, with the Rust Belt showing how the whole country will be in 30-50 years, since we don't really make anything any more, we just consume. If the entire country really needs to re-invent itself, then that means that the cities in the Rust Belt REALLY need to re-invent themselves, and they need to do it NOW. Non-petroleum sources of energy and manufacture are going to be huge industries, and we need to get it on the ground floor if we are to thrive again as a city.
Also, I think this country really needs to recycle more, and I think Toledo should not be shy about setting up huge recycling plants in suitable areas, and calling for trash from the entire Great Lakes/Midwest region. We need the jobs, we can find markets for the recycled materials, and it will start to address the harm we have being doing to our environment for so long now.
I know that people have tried before to get a Jeep museum started, and it hasn't happened for one reason or another, but if there is one thing that is a no-brainer for Toledo it is a Jeep Museum. Jeep is I think the 2nd most recognized brand in the World, after Coca-Cola, for good reason, and given Toledo's convenient location right off 75 and 80, I think you truly might get lots of people stopping off in Toledo that would otherwise drive right on by. My desire to do something in the way of a Wagoneer or Jeep museum was one of the big reasons for my moving to Toledo.
I also think that the de-commissioned ice-breaker "Mackinaw" that was built in Toledo and is looking for a home should be brought to berth next to the Willis B. Boyer on the Maumee. Eventually, you could really have a draw there.
What's in store for Toledo in 2006; anything in particular you're looking forward to?
Well, I know it's coming up right away, but I am very excited about the Art-o-Matic 419 that's comgin in September. I made a big Dischord Records exhibit for the Art-o-Matic in Washington, D.C. several years ago, and it was a really exiting event. I hope Toledo's goes well and can perhaps have it every year. I haven't been to the new Glass Pavilion at the Museum yet, but I look forward to seeing that, and I sure hope it draws visitors.
Beyond running a label, you are in a local band yourself. Are there any new projects/shows/recordings coming out?
Yes, I am in a band called Fast Piece of Furniture. I had retired from drumming for 12 years when I moved here, having done all I really wanted to do in bands. (although touring the World would be fun, never did that) The second person I met in Toledo, however, was Tony Lowe, and he turned out to be the best guitarist and singer I've ever played with. So I am back behind the drums now, and we also have who I think is the best bass player in town, Mahlon Orrin. We also recently added our very talented friend Erika Kuester on keyboards. We just finished all the recording on our first record, and once it's mixed then we will be putting it out, 1/2 on Dischord Records and most likely 1/2 on my other record label, Adult Swim.
We are playing a show coming up:
- Friday, Oct. 27th, 2006, at about 9 pm, at Mickey Finn's Pub, on LaGrange Street in Toledo.
If you had a visitor in town who had never been to Toledo and you had 24 hours to show them the city, where would you take them?
Oh, I guess actually the list I gave earlier would serve, of the places I'd take visiting artists to whom we were showing Toledo's attributes.
You are known to be a collector of just about everything. What are your favorite objects to "archive" and why?
In no particular order, my favorite collections are Jeep Wagoneer stuff, bubble/chewing gum (unopened) from around the World, WW1 German cavalry uniforms, vintage beer trays and beer cans. I've also been working on a book for over 20 years now about my favorite bridge in Washington, D.C., the Q St. Bridge (also called the Dumbarton bridge or the Buffalo bridge, for the 4 huge bronze buffalo which guard its entrances) I guess I have a lot of stuff collected and archived from the D.C. punk scene, and my involvement in that.
Your favorite drink and where in Toledo to get it...
I'd say a nice cold Coke at Shorty's BBQ or Gino's Pizza. Or Jo-Jo's Pizza. Or Pizza Hut. Or Cottage Inn Pizza. Or Jet's Pizza. I like pizza.
