To Albany and Back: Josh Cotrona's Albany Adventure

Josh Cotrona, rocking a Baroness t-shirt.

The first time that I moved to Albany, I was only about nineteen years old. I never really went out or anything at that time. I guess I wasn't smart enough to get an ID back then. I would go to shows a lot, though. And Valentines sometimes.

I did enjoy going to Tulip Fest at Washington Park. And since I lived downtown on Lark Street, there was really no way for me to avoid Lark Fest. I think that one of the stages was like right across from my apartment, so I was kind of forced to listen to that.

Nothing too crazy happened then. I guess the only thing would be that at that time when I lived downtown, sometimes I would find drunk people passed out by our entry way. Some would ask for money. But it wasn't often. It wasn't too bad.

I left, though, and went on a road trip to California. I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving. I didn't even tell my mom that I wasn't living around here anymore until I had been living out there for a month. She freaked out a little, but I kind of expected that.

The friend I was with was from Colorado, so we stopped there on our way to California. When we were visiting his hometown, that's when I met my wife, Betsy. She was actually from Maryland and just happened to move out there. It was pretty random. We were both just in the right place.

I lived in Carlsbad, California for a while. When I was there she came out to visit me. I also went back to Colorado to visit her. And that was kind of how we started dating. We decided to move back east together. We moved to Newport, Massachusetts. About a year later we got married.

We decided to move back to Albany because I grew up here and all of my family is here. It is also a lot cheaper to live in Albany than it is to live in Newport. Since we were trying to save a little money. Moving back was a good idea.

So now I live back downtown off Lark Street on Chestnut. Overall, I like living downtown. I still don't really go out that much. Sometimes I'll go to Bombers. I used to go a lot when they had Win, Lose or Draw. That was fun. But now it’s a little too crowded for me.

I do go to the Lark Tavern sometimes. And I like going to the Spectrum for movies. I’m not that raw. I guess what I do here isn’t that raw, either.

It's fun to people-watch in Albany. I try never to talk to anyone when I do. But, sometimes someone will make eye contact and I can’t avoid it. I'll do it anywhere: a coffee shop, the laundromat, that sort of thing.

I work as a freelance carpenter: remodeling, construction, painting. It's not hard to find work or anything, though. I just do it on my own. Sometimes I get work through somebody else, but mostly on my own.

I have thought about moving out of this area. As far as living somewhere else in Albany, I would live over by St. Peter's Hospital. I would move there if I was ready to have a home and settle down, if I wanted to have children and start a family. I'm not ready for that yet.

Realistically, when we are ready for that, we probably won’t stay in this area at all. I would most likely move back to Massachusetts. It's a nice place to have a family and raise children.--as told to Katie Serfilippi

'Not Everybody Bleeds': An Evening With G. Jinx Masilotti, BodyMod Artist

Jinx, after the piercing.

I’m here in Dead President’s Lounge on Madison Avenue in Albany about to get my navel pierced. Can you tell me your name?
My middle name’s Jinx. That’s what everyone calls me.

Okay Jinx. Is this navel piercing going to hurt a lot?
No. On a scale of one to ten, I’d say it’s a four. At most.

I’m tough. I think I can handle it.
If you’re tough, then I’d say three.

People like you and I who deal with the public on a daily basis – I work at a McDonald’s – all find customers annoying sometimes. Do you have any specific pet peeves about things that customers do or say?
My biggest pet peeve is when people say, “I want to gauge my ears.” There’s no such thing! A gauge is a unit of measurement! So that would be like saying “I want to inch, or centimeter my ears.” You know? [Laughter] It drives me fucking crazy when they call the jewelry “gauges.” It’s like, no, that’s the unit of measurement! That drives me nuts. And it’s only been in the last three or four years people started doing that. I have to tell somebody every day, “It’s not gauging your ears! It’s stretching!”

This is a very unique profession. What inspired you to be a BodyMod Artist?
I found a book when I was 16 called Modern Primitives, and it was when the modern primitives movement was just starting. It showed me a whole different world of stuff that I’d never seen before. This book had scarification, branding, and suspensions. I got into it immediately when I was 18, right out of high school. I found a guy who owned a studio who would teach me.

I lucked out, because I ended up getting two mentors: the shop owner mentored me, and a guy named Jack Yount who was mentoring the owner also mentored me. Jack was one of the first piercers in the U.S. He opened one of the first shops here. He died in 1997 at the age of 75 after 40 years as a piercer.

But things have changed a lot. It’s completely different now. It’s super commercial now. You can buy body jewelry anywhere. It’s just different.

So how many piercings do you have?
I don’t wear jewelry in many of them anymore, but let’s see… [Counting on his fingers] Fifteen?

Fifteen! What was the one that hurt the most?
Nipples. It hurts men a lot more because we have the same amount of nerves in a smaller surface area. Most women say it’s nothing!

What was the first piercing you ever did and what was it like?
A tongue and it was terrible. We used to have a release form that asked if you had any disorders. The girl was epileptic and didn’t tell us. I pierced her tongue and she had a seizure and I freaked out.

Did you cry?
No.

Oh, I would’ve!
Well, I had EMT training. So that popped in and I did everything I needed to do.

What’s the craziest piercing you’ve ever done?
Trans mandible. Through the jaw. It comes out underneath the tongue.

Ow! Would you ever get that one done?
[Chuckles] No. I don’t really wear a lot of jewelry any more. I get tattoos now. I don’t get pierced anymore. I have my micro dermals [on each cheek bone] but that’s it. I screw things onto them once in awhile.

Isn’t it awkward when you have to pierce nipples or genitals?
Not at all. It’s all the same.

Really?
It’s all the same!

I don’t believe you! I think that would be so awkward!
After 15 years, it’s all the same. I’m pretty desensitized to everything. But right now you’re gonna feel me drawing on you, I swear it’s not a needle yet.

Oh my God, so this is the moment of truth? I won’t be able to watch this. I can’t. I hate stabbing. [Chuckles] That’s fine. Stand up. I’m just gonna mark you a little more right now.

I seriously have a phobia though. That’s why I had to bring my roommate with me, just in case I pass out so she can drive me home!
I’m sure you’ll be fine! I’m gonna have you look in the mirror okay? I need you to stand perfectly straight, put your hands to your sides, and keep your head straight. When you move so does the center of your body. We want to get a nice perfect center, since I guarantee everything I do. All right, take a look!

Beautiful. I’m so scared!
Just lay on the table. Don’t be scared. I’ll do it really quick, I promise.

Do people scream a lot?
Nah. I don’t think you’ll scream.

I’ll probably just be like ah! [I make a crazy face.]
You might say ouch really loud. That’s common.

Okay. [Nervous giggles]
I’m just darkening your marks right now. [Holds up metal clamps] I’m gonna put these on. They’re gonna pinch a little bit.
[I gasp] Told ya!

It feels so weird! [A noise of terror escapes my lips as he moves toward my belly button.]
Okay, take a deep breath in. Let it out. Take a breath in. Let it out. Last one. In. And let it out, and…

AH! Ah ah ah ahhh!!
That’s the worst of it.

That hurt!
I thought you said you were tough?

I am tough! But it still hurt.
Well, the worst is over. Okay, you’re gonna feel a little tiny pinch right now.

Is it bleeding?
Not at all.

Is that a good thing?
Sure. Not everybody bleeds.

--Samantha Smith

Warehouse Songs and Stories: A Conversation with Mike of Mary Jane Books

Heading on over to Mary Jane Books to interview Mike, I was stopped by one of his coworkers, Nathaniel, who explained that Mike wasn’t in the store. He told me that if I still wanted to see Mike, he would be busy in their warehouse. This came as a big surprise. I was a bit skeptical at first--going into an unknown warehouse seems risky--but I was pleased to see Mike and a host of other people who only work exclusively in the warehouse waiting inside.

Mike offered me a chair, as he sat on a stool ladder.--Tony Geras

It’s just so weird interviewing you here, because I was expecting to go to the store. I was told by your friend Nathaniel to come here instead. I didn’t even know that you guys had a warehouse.
All the books that don’t get used during the semester get stored here and then a lot of books get bought off the internet and then we have to store them down here. We just sort them all down here; all the books that never get used for semesters you can get for a lot cheaper this way.

It’s kind of like a secret library, you know? There’s no sign showing this place is owned by Mary Jane Books, and there are literally thousands of books in here that aren’t held in the store.
Yeah, it’s pretty cool down here. You can get out of the store; it’s not as stressful.

Everything about the atmosphere here seems pretty laid-back. Both buildings have these hip, indie vibes. Do you listen to the kind of music that’s playing right now? What kind of music are you into?
We listen to all different kinds of stuff. I mostly listen to punk, a lot of underground stuff that you probably haven’t heard of before.

What bands?
The Big Boys?

Haven’t heard of them. I’ve gone to some underground punk shows, too, but it really wouldn’t be “underground” if we’ve all heard of it before, huh?
[Turns his attention to his coworkers as they’re walking by.]
You can get these guys to do an interview, too.

[Laughs] So all you guys just come down here to chill?
Yeah. A lot of the book orders get handled down here, too. The deliveries come down here, and then we price them and make sure they're OK.

Have you guys ever just came down here when you were too stressed out at the store?
Not really. Usually we’re just down here when the book orders get in. Nathaniel works down here. Usually there’s not as many people working down here either. When kids come back from school for the first couple of weeks, more people are employed.

What do you do to relax?
I ride bikes a lot. I’m a big bicycle rider. Not so much in the winter but during the summer I’m outside every day.

I think I’ve seen you riding around here before! Do you live in Albany, then?
Yeah, on Madison Avenue.

Cool, I was going to head to Madison at some point. I was initially going to interview someone at a head shop down there.
Which one?

I have no idea. There are so many!
Yeah, I know of a few that are on Madison, and there’s a bunch on Lark Street.

I ended up at one on Lark Street and the store got robbed while I was in there. When I went in, another person followed me inside and started asking for change; the lady working there told him that she doesn’t have any, but he could take a few quarters out of the tip jar. Then, he walked out with the tip jar.
[Laughs]
Why do they have a tip jar in a head shop?

I dunno. Has anything like that ever happened to you guys?
Some lady tried to sell a library book.

Really? Did it have the barcode and index thing on the back that you could tell?
It had printed right on the front: Albany Public Library. I was like, “Uh, you should probably return this to the library.”