Meet Spike Polite

 

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Spike Polite. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Spike below.

Spike, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my father who repeatedly told me never to give up on what you are striving for. He was in the U.S. Army stationed at the army’s depot in upstate New York and was pushing for an advancement in his career and having setbacks from beaurocratic red tape and others vying for the same position. He persisted in gaining his skills to advance. He told me to stay practiced in your craft by spending an amount of time doing it everyday. And a lot of times in my field I see people get these big breaks that they did not seem to deserve. Other times you see people get the big breaks who spent time developing their craft. I like it better when people get these breakout roles or opportunities for their artistry to shine when they have been diligently practicing it which seems better than just it being given to them I especially dislike nepotism

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I am an NYC native musician, DJ, soundman, part time actor and model stqrting my career in the Lower East Side in the squatter/anarchist and housing rights movements that existed before gentrification. Most of our evenings were spent at CBGB or in Tompkins Square Park at the Squat or Rot concert events. While the yippies and High Times Magazine had us performing at the Pot Parade held in Washington Square Park to legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use, we got our rise at CBGB through our band’s mentor, Dee Dee Ramone.
I do acting occasionally and it all started in Soho, NYC as I worked for the Cannabis Cup Tours airline company whoanaged my band and got us onto bug show bills. Eventually Spike Lee hired us to perdorm our song in a scene where the lead characters are dancing to my band’s song that we performed at CBGB. The scen was aired on televison as a commercial to get people to watch the movie. We toured afterwards and recorded our self titled LP , “SEWAGE”
I am a SAG/AFTRA member whi works alot of productioms filmed in NYC. I am not equity but will get that one day. For now I keep writing, recording, and touring with my band, “ Spike Polite & Sewage”. I DJ at local punk tock dive bars in NYC when the work arrises and weekly online on Mondays from 3pm eastern standard time until late on whatever68radio.net under the show title “punk rock & beYond” DJ Spike Polite. I run concerts in Tompkins Square Park for the Shadow Presents, Puke Island and even my own bookings.
I push unsigned artists on my weeklyn radio show broadcast to gove people a shot at getting heard in a world where only the monolpolies acts are given airplay to control the market…I allow artists an opportunity around the big companies that block out artsist trying to emerge. I feel people should be given an opportunity to advance and in turn pay it forward.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

The area of skill I used was reaching out to people on a daily basis with interpersonal skills. I used to hand out fliers for customers to try the Cannabis Cup Tours when I worked in Soho and it helped me meet alot of people that advanced my career and gave me opportunities that I would not have encountered just sitting on the park bench complaining about the man and the injustices of the system and not having a means to effect a change. When working at the High Times Cannabis Cup Tours I was very outgoing as I enjoyed life. Currently; I do poster runs at concerts and social media posts to get opportunities. The issue is to get out and meet people. Not everyone wants what yoj have to offer but you will get to connect with someone or a group of people who do and will get you going.

Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?

Currently we are looking for a oerson or an agency that books concert events to take us into their roster ao that we can spend out time writing new tracks and reach out into other areas that need our attention witjout is worrying about looking for a tour booking

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Caren Culligan for the “Big O” artwork

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