For what it’s worth
Did you know there is an Anatolian Mother Goddess-worshipping LGBTQ friendly temple and Pagan spirituality center in misty and forested Palenville? I only found out about the Maetreum of Cybele and their accompanying low-power multi-genre and format radio station WLPP-LP recently through Lori Supper, an old friend of mine who insisted I would love the place. As a non-binary person who is pretty hip to the weird outlaw vibes and pagan-type hippie and punk stuff going on in the area, I was stunned. When I heard that it was a trans-inclusive space and that they had faced bigotry and financial woes in the past due to rumored hate from some of the redneck types in the local community who would probably be fine with some disgusting Evangelical hypocrisy going down tax-free but who scoff at a women-centered religion raising chickens and playing psych music, well … let’s just say I was pissed.
Just this past Memorial Day Weekend I was lucky enough to get a tour of the grounds of the Maetreum by the Rev. Mother Cathryn Platine. Cathryn was gracious and showed me the grounds of the facility as well as the accompanying radio station. The impression I got was that this is truly a marvelous religious center that just happens to celebrate one of the raddest goddesses to ever have a eunuch mendicant priesthood. The historic old Central House Inn in Palenville hosts the Maetreum; they’ve done wonders to restore the Central House as the only known, true to form, Silver Age Catskill Inn (mid 1850s through early 1900s) in style and appearance.
I loved an old stove with black cats for legs and a well-curated antique-filled interior that echoed the Earth-centric do it yourself outlook of my guide. Kerosene lamps, antique crank phones and telegraph bells along with reproductions of Suffragette posters and a porch full of bright pentacles and banners made me smile and feel spirited inspiration. In Trump’s America, where the ugliest dehumanizing aspects of capitalism’s bares a rictus grin and carnival laughter mocking any of us as triggered snowflakes who don’t think it’s cool to have prison buses for babies, I can’t tell you how good it felt to sit on the porch of the Maetreum and hear Cathryn wax poetic about inclusivity, radio rights and progressive worship energy. Right now WLPP-LP, historically the first radio station run by Pagans, could use support. They are trying to raise funds for a backup generator among other things. It’s a great idea for Palenville to be able to hear broadcasts during emergency weather situations or just when you need to cool out and smoke a joint along to some amazingly curated music and talk programming.
Potential donors and/or worshippers interested in finding out more can check out www.facebook.com/Maetreum for more information on stopping real Witch Hunts.
Tins at BSP
Celebrated multi-vocalist multi-hat wearing Buffalo-based psych-pop indie rockers The Tins are hitting BSP Kingston on Friday, June 8 with local heroes Kyle & The Pity Party and acoustic psych-folk heroine (and ex-Foxygen member) Globelamp in tow. This is going to be one of the coolest bills of the countdown to summer and is highly recommended. The show’s at 8 for under $10 — you will want to get there early to catch the full line-up. The Tins and newfound Kingston resident Globelamp both are supporting new or pending releases and Kyle & The Pity Party almost always have new material, so expect some awesome twists and turns.
Adam Stanley from The Tins drops in this week to give me the scoop on the band’s self-titled new release, available at the show.
“No label backing but it’s all good,” he tells me. “We’ve been pushing it hard and it’s gotten good responses so far as far as singles go. It’s exciting to hit the road because it’s been a while since we’ve gone out on an extended run like this, plus it’s cool to get out and tour behind this record. It’s definitely our most hi-fi release, I’d say. There’s a big sound to it that none of our other records really have. Some records are super compressed-sounding. Ours is big but we didn’t want it to sound too compressed. There’s a lot going on there but you can make out the details.”
The Tins tracked their latest at GCR audio in Buffalo with Justin Rose as the engineer. Robby Takac from no less than the Goo Goo Dolls was the producer and overseer. No word if the band told no one his name. That’s a joke. Nevermind.
“It was actually really fun,” Adam says. “I double up on guitar and bass in the studio, so at first I was a bit intimidated to be tracking bass while Robby is sitting there watching me. But we got a good rapport going and kept it laid back so it ended up being a really nice experience. Plus we definitely learned a lot from that guy.”
Until next week, listen to Buffalo Springfield, burn your bra and boycott the NFL. I don’t care what order, just make sure you tick off all the boxes on that checklist.
Join the family! 
