Cassie J. Sneider’s Life Was Saved By Rock n Roll

Cassie J. Sneider and Pug

Cassie J. Sneider’s debut book of stories Fine, Fine Music was just released on Raw Art Press and she’s in the midst of a nation-wide tour promoting it in Los Angles, Salt Lake City, New York and much of our USA  between. I saw Sneider’s June 26th reading at San Francisco’s outstanding independent bookstore Dog Eared Books.  Her in-person performances are fucking hilarious and I have the distinct memory of watching Sneider at the RADAR Reading Series in March 2010 when an entire room of 100+ San Franciscans CRIED with laughter at Cassie’s childhood attempts to fundraise  for a family vacation by convincing her mom to host a yard sale. Cassie was kind of enough to answer some questions for RADAR while she’s in Austin, TX on her book tour.

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RADAR Productions: Where in the world are you right now?

Cassie J. Sneider: I am in Austin, Texas, staying with a buddy before leaving at midnight to be on time for a reading in Birmingham, AL.

RP: You are a committed traveler. You are 28, right? I gleaned from your book WHICH I LOVED that you graduated high school 4 years after me. (I graduated in 1997.)

CJS: Yes. I am 28. It’s kind of weird for me that I graduated in 2001. It sounds really young but my brain feels really old.  When I was like 20, I was dating this dude who was like 36, and I remember him saying, “I got my nipples pierced when you were 5.” It’s like the WORLD got it’s nipples pierced when I was 5, and I was too young to do anything cool.

RP: I know. I only relate to people who are 40. Everyone always thinks I’m more ancient than I am. I just look haggard. Now that we established your coordinates, let’s get straight to the heart of everything: where are you astrologically? Sun, rising and moon sign?

Cassie J. Sneider's gonna eat you next, fool.

I laughed! I cried! It was better than CATS!

RP: What is your writing practice these days?

CJS: Usually, I’ll be walking the Pug and get an idea, write it on my hand, think about it for a while, then drink a lot of coffee and write the story. I still journal, but not withe the same fervor as i did when I was 15.

RP: What music are you obsessed with these days? What has played a role in your book tour, musically?

CJS: I have been listening to a lot of OFF! lately but the car I rented for tour has satellite radio. There is this station called The Bridge that plays 70s soft rock. I have been listening to a lot of Seals and Crofts to get pumped before readings. It’s pretty disgusting, actually, the terrible dichotomy of driving 90 miles an hour, drinking 44 ounce cups of coffee, arm hanging out the window but with “Summer Breeze” playing. When i get home, I decided to make t-shirts that say, “SEALS & CROFTS & CASSIE J. SNEIDER.” You can have one as soon as I make them.

RP: What writers are you obsessed with these days? Who have you been reading, are you reading, or hoping to read when you’re done reading your own book every night to strangers?

CJS: When I get home, I am hoping to read the new Steven Tyler autobiography for pearls of wisdom. I’ve been reading a lot of poetry by Cristin O’Keefe Aptowicz, a really great poet from Philadelphia. I also recently read The Beautifully Worthless by Ali Liebegott to gear up for a dog-and-human cross country trip.

RP: What non-book reading do you love? (ie magazines, blogs, USA Today News From Every State)

CJS: I get a lot of letters, so checking my PO Box is pretty exciting. I get a lot of jailmail and letters from kids who find my stuff, so I usually spend the whole day reading stuff from people, and it’s a nice reminder that the world isn’t as big as it feels sometimes.

RP: Do you initiate contact with prisoners or do they find you?

CJS: Maximum RockNRoll did a few zine reviews a couple of years ago, and I started getting letters from people in jail. Mosy pf them are incarcerated for things that if they could afford lawyers, they probably would have just gotten a slap on the wrist, but because of poverty, will be stuck in the system forever. I donated a bunch of my books to Pages for Prisoners to sort of keep it going. While I was there, we opened up a few letters from prisoners. They were really depressing. Some prisons don’t allow book carts and make it really difficult to ship books to people.

RP: Are you involved with any Books for Prisoner programs?

CJS: Now I am! [Bloomington, Indiana's] Boxcar Books works with Midwest Pages for Prisoners, but when I get back from tour, I am going to see what’s happening on the East Coast and what I can do. I tried to do a reading and workshop at a prison in Texas and got disqualified because I am already penpals with one of the dudes there. It was really upsetting. I tried SO HARD to make it happen. I sent emails and made phone calls and eventually spoke to the substitute warden who said I was being disqualified on the basis that I was already in contact with someone there. He’s in there for some kind of drug charge and has good behavior, so it just seemed like an excuse. I emailed and called to speak to someone else, but no one would return my calls or emails. It was really disheartening.

RP: What is your interest in reading to prisoners specifically?

CJS: I think the American prison system is pretty messed up, and the idea of maybe starting something positive in someone’s life or helping them see that they can express their experiences in words or cartoons is my motivation.

RP: What is the the book tour traveling like for you? Fun, lonely, inspiring, a mindfuck?

CJS: Well, I have my dog, Pug, with me. I have been trying to make it like a 1950s family vacation. There has been a lot of, “Hydroelectricity! Well, would you look at that, son! I’ll be!” It’s been pretty good. Doing so much driving is a little maddening, especially when you talk to people and say things like, “C’mon, it’s only a 9 hour drive!” and they look at you like you are crazy.

Secret truth: Pug ghost-wrote much of her book.

RP: What kind of personality and set of reactions do you project onto Pug? What does he think about all this?

CJS: In my imagination, Pug reacts to everything in a whisper and is always looking at the bright side. He says things like, “This hotdog is soooo goooood…” or “Bread is my favorite soft rock band…they are sooooo goood…”

RP: At [San Francisco's] Dogeared Books, you had to nudge Pug awake because his snoring competed with your reading. Any more experiences with Pug in the venues?

CJS:  His narcolepsy and apparent non-interest in my stardom makes me feel like he’s not that much of a team player sometimes, but he’s held it together when it counts. The only real problem with him was at Dog Eared when he started rustling through that lady’s bag like he was a jackal eating what was left of a felled zebra.

RP: I thought maybe you two had a thing worked out like you’re the decoy and he goes in for the theft while we’re laughing at your story.

CJS: Sister Spit doesn’t check criminal records, right?

RP: If we did, we’d never have a full van, my friend. What are your hopes for upcoming writing projects?

CJS: I have two graphic novels I am working on. One is a real life story of every bad job I had when I lived in Austin, Texas mixed with a roadtrip to see the Dwarves where we hit a deer and all hell broke loose. The other one is a story about a guy who is addicted to computer duster but the manager of Walgreens won’t let him buy it anymore, so he starts stealing his grandmother’s medication, which starts to give him old-woman superpowers and side effects. I am trying to get it done by the fall so I can show it for [the 2012 Sister Spit] tour.

RP: Finally, what’s your ideal situation for listening to music? Tell me about the environment and method.

CJS: Well, I collect 8-tracks, and my bed is a 1970s plush burgundy porno bed with an 8-track player and lights built into it. I also collect porno records and sexy jazz music. I think you can do the math on that. Also, I really like when people send me letters. If anyone reads the book, write me and tell me about yourself!

RP: Thanks for taking time out on this patriotic day of spangled string bikinis to be interviewed!

CJS: You’re welcome! Thanks for interviewing me and not minding that I was wearing this spangled string bikini while we skyped!

Cassie J. Sneider will be a featured writer on the 2012 Sister Spit tour. Catch her April 2012! In the meantime, put down the computer and buy her book!