Episode 47: Star Athena (Olympia bands Subdebs, Flying Tigers)

Episode 47 Jason catches up with his ex-wife, Los Angeles raised, former Olympia punk, now fellow Portlander Star Athena. The two talk about Star's experience growing up in Los Angeles. Raised in a westside apartment down the hall from Punky Meadows, frontman of Casablanca recording artists Angel. Her brother Heath played in many LA bands, doing a stint with Angry Samoans among others.  She talks about how as a teen going to punk shows she was repulsed by the sexual violence and harassment she experienced in the crowd, but that it didn’t crush her love of music. Star and Jason met in the very early 90’s when she was a DJ at influential college station KUSF in San Francisco and he was working for Jello Biafra at Alternative Tentacles. They discuss those vital years in SF before tech dollars leveled the city’s culture and the music industry was exploding with alternative grunginess. They go on to explore their move to Olympia after attending the International Pop Underground Fest and they recall what they both saw as the D.I.Y. pastoral punk paradise they found in their new home. They get into her two bands Flying Tigers and SubDebs who both released vinyl on K Records. It’s not all about the past; Star explains how her diagnosis of Autism in her forties has given her a greater level of understanding and self-acceptance. She also shares some of the techniques and practices she uses today to mitigate the stress and anxiety of life and the challenges of living with multiple chronic illnesses. It’s an uplifting conversation that went on much longer than one episode could hold. Hopefully Star will be back for a part two soon! Thank you for listening! Star's instagram (links to her projects in her linktree) Music:  SubDebs 'Telephone TV' SubDebs 'Overtime' TM theme by jason Support the pod:  Monthly: thru Anchor/Spotify One time: Venmo @Jason-Traeger-1