Patty Schemel – Spinning Platters

Spinning Platters Interview: Patty Schemel of Upset and Hole

Patty Schemel is probably best known as the drummer for legendary rock band Hole. More recently, she’s had a documentary about her life called Hit So Hard released, as well as started a band with Ali Koehler of Vivian Girls called Upset. She’s also written an autobiography, also titled Hit So Hard. The book is in stores on October 31st. (Yes, on Halloween!) Spinning Platters had the honor of getting to speak with Schemel recently about her career, writing a book, and what it’s like to play in a band with musicians from a different generation.

Hit So Hard:A Memoir can be preordered here!

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Spinning Platters Interview: Patty Schemel on “Hit So Hard”

It’s been twenty years since Patty Schemel became the drummer for Hole at the age of 25 in 1992. At the time, the band consisted entirely of co-founders Courtney Love and Eric Erlandson. The bassist and drummer with whom they’d recorded their grinding debut album, Pretty on the Inside, had moved on; Patty was recommended to Courtney by Kurt Cobain, who initially wanted Patty for Nirvana before settling on Dave Grohl. Patty had been a fixture in the Pacific Northwest indie-punk scene since the mid-’80s, but little about those experiences could have prepared her for the mind-melting, generation-defining roller coaster ride through heaven and hell on which she was about to have a front-car seat. Those explosive years, the drug-addled abyss that followed, and her hard-fought redemption are chronicled in shockingly intimate detail in a new documentary called Hit So Hard.

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Spinning Platters Guide To Noise Pop 2012

For the last 20 years, the good folks of Noise Pop have turned a single show at Kennel Club (now known as The Independent) into a huge, weeklong festival that causes Bay Area music nerds to clear their calendar every year. In recent years, the fest has expanded beyond music- we have movies, craft fairs, and literary events in addition to one of the best programmed music fests you will ever go to. Go to 2012.noisepop.com for a full listing, but if you want to know what I think you should go to, follow the jump!

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Spinning Platters Guide to the Frameline35 San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival

The 35th annual Frameline LGBT Film Festival kicks off later this week, running from June 16-26 with screenings at the Castro, Roxie, and Victoria theaters. Frameline has once again programmed a globally diverse lineup of sex comedies, coming-of-age dramas, compelling documentaries, and something called Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same. Full info available at the official website. Look after the jump for Spinning Platters’ top 10 picks for the festival (all descriptions courtesy of Frameline).

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