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Episode 135: Kayla Greet

Pinball Profile·podcast_episode·25m 34s·held·Jun 9, 2018
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Kayla Greete discusses founding women's pinball leagues and her role in Pacific Northwest pinball community.

Summary

Jeff Teola interviews Kayla Greete, a prominent figure in the Pacific Northwest pinball community who co-founded Babes in Pinland women's tournament (~4 years ago, hosted for 3 years) and has been contributing to Skillshare podcast for 3 years and zine for 6+ years. They discuss the growth of women's pinball tournaments, the Seattle/Portland arcade scene, competitive pinball culture, personal music interests (punk rock), and Kayla's experience visiting Heighway Pinball in Wales where she saw Alien prototypes.

Key Claims

  • Kayla has been part of Skillshare podcast for three years

    high confidence · Kayla states directly: 'Yeah, three years now.'

  • Skillshare zine has been running for 10 years, with Kayla contributing for 6+ years

    high confidence · Kayla: 'the zine's been going for 10 years before that' (podcast), and 'I've been doing it for a little over half the time Skillshare has been doing it'

  • Babes in Pinland women's tournament has been running for about 4 years, with Kayla hosting for 3 years

    high confidence · Kayla: 'it's been going for about four years now. I hosted it for three years or so and got a little tired of it'

  • Babes in Pinland attracted 54 women to a Thursday night tournament

    high confidence · Kayla: 'We got 54 women in that tournament and that's pretty amazing on a Thursday night.'

  • Babes in Pinland started about two months after Bells and Chimes (San Francisco women's tournament)

    high confidence · Kayla: 'I started it about two months after Bells and Chimes started it in San Francisco on the Bay.'

  • Kayla visited Heighway Pinball in Wales and saw Alien prototypes before release

    high confidence · Kayla describes the visit: 'I got to see prototypes of Alien before, like way before it was ready to come out. They showed us like versions of the Alien (Pro)'

  • Skillshare core team consists of Gordon, Brad, Andrew, Graham, Nosebleed, and Kayla

    high confidence · Kayla: 'The core group of Skillshare is Gordon, Brad, Andrew, Graham, and Nosebleed, and myself.'

  • Skillshare is transitioning from 11x17 folding format to pre-stapled color pamphlet format

    high confidence · Jeff/Kayla discuss: 'we've decided to change the format a little bit, have color cover, and it's going to look more like a pamphlet' and 'these are going to show up already stapled and folded'

  • Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show is June 8-10

Notable Quotes

  • “It is like the trip advisory of pinball in the Northwest. Yeah. You get everything there.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ ~0:05:00 — Describes Skillshare's role as comprehensive guide to Northwest pinball venues and tournaments

  • “When I play pinball for fun, when I play pinball to beat someone, my brain does a different thing. And there's definitely tournament fatigue.”

    Kayla Greet @ ~0:08:00 — Articulates the difference between casual and competitive pinball play, noting burnout concerns

  • “It wasn't until there was a space for it that women decided like, well, I like pinball and I'd like to play, but I don't think I'm ready for a tournament. And I'd say like, what about the women's tournament? And they're like, oh, well, I think I could play that.”

    Kayla Greet @ ~0:25:00 — Explains the impact of dedicated women's tournaments in building participation and confidence among female players

  • “There is no one strong dominant group. It's not men. It's not women. It's not kids. It's anyone. This isn't just lip service. I'm saying when we get more women playing pinball, you're going to see some big championships won by many women because I see the quality in so many great players.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ ~0:30:00 — Advocates for diversity in pinball based on observed skill quality among women players

  • “I would just go around and say, Hey, it's only $5. Did you want, like, I would just start a rapport with people that I saw in the bar, just promoting it or just talking to people.”

    Kayla Greet @ ~0:32:00 — Describes grassroots outreach tactics used to recruit women players to Babes in Pinland

  • “I got to see prototypes of Alien before, like way before it was ready to come out. They showed us like versions of the Alien (Pro) that they were thinking about going for, the top bumpers of the eggs that they were looking at.”

    Kayla Greet @ ~0:55:00 — Provides insider account of Highway Pinball Factory operations and unreleased game development

  • “You look at it and it's like looking at a Jackson Pollock painting, right? Where you're like, I could splatter paint on a canvas, but then you try to do it and it doesn't look anything like that.”

Entities

Kayla Greetperson[name withheld pending review]personSkillshareorganizationBabes in PinlandorganizationBells and ChimesorganizationNorthwest Pinball and Arcade ShoweventHeighway PinballcompanyAlien by Heighway Pinballperson

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Women's pinball tournaments are proliferating across North America with increasing participation (54 women at Babes in Pinland, emergence of new women's tournaments including WIT announcement at Replay)

    high · Kayla founded Babes in Pinland 4 years ago attracting 54 women; Jeff mentions 'we're seeing more and more women's tournaments come out' and 'big announcement that is going to be happening at replay with the WIT tournament'; mention of Bells and Chimes, Gator Queens, Ladies The Flip Wisconsin context

  • ?

    venue_signal: Pacific Northwest (Seattle/Portland/Bellingham) has developed a robust pinball ecosystem with multiple venues, frequent tournaments, and dedicated community infrastructure (Skillshare zine/app/podcast)

    high · Jeff: 'from where I am and other parts of North America, We don't see anything like we do in Seattle and Portland. It's amazing'; Kayla notes tournament calendar 'every day of that calendar is filled with at least one, maybe two, sometimes three events'; Skillshare app and zine track 100+ venues and tournaments

  • ?

    product_strategy: Skillshare transitioning from DIY 11x17 folding zine to professionally printed color pamphlet format, eliminating community folding parties but improving production quality and distribution

    high · Kayla: 'After 10 years, we've decided to change the format a little bit, have color cover, and it's going to look more like a pamphlet'; eliminates 'our folding parties that we have' where '10 to 20 people come out from the community'; zine 'is going to eliminate our folding parties' but items 'going to show up already stapled and folded'

  • ?

    business_signal: Skillshare funded through advertising (Shorty's, Add a Ball) and Patreon ($5+ donation tier with rewards); core contributors uncompensated; investing heavily in format upgrade

    high · Kayla: 'we do ads' from 'Shorty's is our biggest advertiser' and 'Add a Ball'; 'we also have a patreon... none of us are making money off of it we just do it because we love it'; color format represents significant investment: 'that's a lot of money and time put into Skillshare'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.077

0:00
A little Ramones to bring us in here, and our next guest, it's time for another Pinball Profile. I'm Jeff Teola. You can find our group on Facebook, also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us, pinballprofile at gmail.com, and please subscribe on either iTunes, Stitcher, or Google Play. She's done a lot out in the Northwest. in fact started one of the biggest women's leagues out there. Kayla Greete joins us right now. Hello, Kayla. How are you? Hi, Jeff. I'm good. How are you? I'm awesome, and I'm so glad that you reached out to me because we've been talking a little bit over Facebook over the last few months or so. And for those that don't know, Kayla has been part of Skillshare podcast for three years, I think, right? Yeah, three years now. And the zine's been going for 10 years before that. So, well, let's see. We started at year seven. We're like, what about having a podcast too? That zine, when I was in Seattle, the one time, the one day, and I got my hands on one. I still have it. It has the Emperor from Star Wars on it. Oh, sure. Uh-huh. And, okay, that looks good in the cover. And then you open up this, at the time, an 11 by 17 sheet, and every single pinball place you can possibly imagine is in there. And this is all because of the hard work of so many people behind the scenes from Skillshare that we should probably give some credit to right now. Oh, absolutely. Sure. The core group of Skillshare is Gordon, Brad, Andrew, Graham, and Nosebleed, and myself. I'm the newbie still, even though I've been doing it for about six years, I think now.
1:34
I've been doing it for a little over half the time Skillshare has been doing it, but they haven't added anyone since me, so I'm still the new kid. It is like the trip advisory of pinball in the Northwest. Yeah. You get everything there. And, of course, I only saw a few things. The only two bars I saw, I'm embarrassed to say this, I saw Shorty's and the new Jupiter Bar. Both great. I don't think you should be embarrassed to say that. Those are great spots. Oh, no, no. I'm embarrassed I didn't see more. That's all. Sure. Like, I can't believe I haven't been to, you've been to Flip Flip Ding Ding a gabillion times and Add a Ball and 8-Bit Arcade. I haven't seen them yet. Well, next time you're in town, we also have an app for the list. So you can download the Skillshare app, and it will bring up a map for you, and you can zoom in or zoom out based on where you are, and it'll tell you the closest spots to you and how many machines and whether it's all ages or all that. So we've joined the 21st century. And you know what? This is good because a lot of the tourists, when they go there, it's very easy and obvious to see something as spectacular as the museum, which I also want to see too. Oh, sure. But you don't get a sense of that Seattle bar scene that is incredible and unique. I know Portland's probably very similar too, but I'm telling you, from where I am and other parts of North America, We don't see anything like we do in Seattle and Portland. It's amazing. So there's more to it than just a museum, and Skillshare is the best way to find out about it. And about competitions, too. We have a really in-depth calendar that we reach as far as Portland and Bellingham, and we try to keep any kind of tournament up on the calendar. And there's been some times in the most recent history where every day of that calendar is filled with at least one, maybe two, sometimes three events, and it's ridiculous. we're very fortunate. I just keep worrying about the time that I'm wondering when the bubble is going to burst, you know, like when is it going to be too much? I know for individuals, sometimes it can be too much. And I think you and I have talked about sometimes there is competition burnout. I just got done playing a week of all these IFPA 15 events and it was great, but you're a little pinballed out after it. Oh, absolutely. When I play pinball for fun, when I play pinball to beat someone, my brain does a different thing. And there's definitely tournament fatigue. And you just have to be on all the time if you want to win, and especially if you want to play big tournaments. Sometimes I just don't see the reason for there to be a tournament. They'll be like, oh, it's so-and-so's birthday. We're going to have a Brac-a-Lope tournament three strikes you're out. I'm like, can we just hang out and play pinball? You know? Yeah. Like, I'll play dollar games with you or something. Come on.

high confidence · Jeff: 'we want to promote the Northwest Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show, which is June 8th to 10th'

  • Kayla wrote about women in pinball for years, including an article about AC/DC Lucy edition called 'TNACDC'

    high confidence · Kayla: 'I have an article for when the Lucy edition of ACDC came out and I called it TNACDC because there was just too much TNA on it'

    • Kayla Greet @ ~1:10:00 — Uses art analogy to explain the Ramones' musical sophistication and simplicity

  • “I just hope that one day he got to listen to that message”

    Kayla Greet (paraphrasing story about Joey Ramone leaving George Carlin a voicemail) @ ~1:15:00 — Anecdote illustrating Joey Ramone's humility and admiration for comedic genius

    • [name withheld pending review]
    person
    Maureenperson
    Shorty'svenue
    Flip Flip Ding Dingvenue
    Jupiter Barvenue
    Add a Ballvenue
    Joe Balcerperson
    Dee Dee Ramoneperson
    Joey Ramoneperson
    CBGB'svenue
    Pinball Profileorganization
    Barenaked Ladiesperson/band
    Julie Grayperson
    Alien (pinball)game
    Full Throttlegame
    The Simpsons Pinball Partygame
  • ?

    community_signal: High-frequency tournament calendar in Northwest (daily events during peak seasons) creating player fatigue; tension between community celebration and competitive intensity

    high · Kayla: 'I just keep worrying about the time that I'm wondering when the bubble is going to burst'; 'Sometimes I just don't see the reason for there to be a tournament'; Jeff: 'there is competition burnout. I just got done playing a week of all these IFPA 15 events and it was great, but you're a little pinballed out after it'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Deliberate inclusive approach to women's tournaments: low entry barriers ($5 fee), supportive competitive culture (hugs, in-game teaching), gender-inclusive policies (trans women welcome), grassroots recruitment via rapport-building rather than condescension

    high · Kayla describes approach: 'I would just go around and say, Hey, it's only $5... if you identify as female, you're welcome to play'; 'even when I've seen like when women would lose or win, there's like usually a hug afterwards'; 'They're willing to teach people like even in game while you're playing a tournament game'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Kayla Greet stepped back from hosting Babes in Pinland after 3 years to friend Maureen due to scheduling conflict (early morning work); Maureen growing the event

    high · Kayla: 'I hosted it for three years or so and got a little tired of it and I had to work early in the morning. So I passed it off to my friend Maureen and she's been doing an amazing job and she's really growing it.'

  • ?

    industry_signal: Highway Pinball Factory (UK) closed; Kayla expresses regret about the closure despite admiring their modular machine innovation and production efforts

    high · Kayla: 'Unfortunately, not every dream can become a reality for very long. So I'm glad that I got to see it'; Jeff: 'it's too bad... you don't like seeing things like that happen, especially to good people'; Kayla visited CNC machines and paint booths showing 'where the process starts and ends'

  • ?

    content_signal: Kayla Greet creating content across pinball (Skillshare, Pinball Profile, podcast) and music (Razor Cake reviews, New Noise magazine interviews, band demo reviews); using platform visibility to advocate for diversity and women in both communities

    high · Kayla: 'I do reviews for Razor Cake. I do band interviews for New Noise magazine'; 'part of the reason that I do podcasts about pinball and podcasts about music and write about music is that I want there to be more women... if I can add to that, then I will'

  • ?

    collector_signal: Jeff Teola's personal collection reflects designer appreciation; favorite owned machine is The Simpsons Pinball Party (Joe Balcer design), indicating value placed on design artistry and legacy

    medium · Jeff: 'My favorite game that I own is the Simpsons Pinball Party, and that's one of his masterpieces as well, too' (referring to Joe Balcer)

  • ?

    leak_detection: Kayla Greet gained access to Alien pinball game prototypes at Highway Pinball Factory (pre-release versions of Alien 1 and 2 with design iterations on Alien Queen and egg bumpers), representing rare insider early access

    high · Kayla: 'I got to see prototypes of Alien before, like way before it was ready to come out. They showed us like versions of the Alien Queen that they were thinking about going for, the top bumpers of the eggs that they were looking at. Then they're like, we can only show you prototype play of Alien 1 or Alien 2. Which one do you want? And I was like, both'

    • 4:11
    Well, our dollar games here where I am in Canada aren't as cool as some of the ones I've seen in the States. What are you talking about? You've got loonies and toonies. Okay, that is good. Sometimes they slide underneath the lock bar, which is a nightmare.
    4:25
    But I was in Denver, and I was playing some dollar games, and I assume it's the same. It's a little south for me, obviously, but still the west side, so I don't know where it came from. But the dollar games they were playing, and by the way, I'm not endorsing gambling at all. No, not at all. That money goes back to who it came from. Yes, this never happened. This is a fictional story I'm telling, so stay away, IRS. Anyway, if this game did happen, you'd play a dollar game, and if you got an extra ball, you could play it, but it cost you a dollar. And some of the groups you're playing, you could play it for a dollar, but you could only play it one-handed. So, you know, maybe you were right there to start a multi-ball or something like that. Sure. Maybe a skill shot's enough to beat somebody. It was a neat little twist to it. I got soaked in it. first of all, converting from Canadian to American money. I got killed there, but then losing to all these Denver players. Yeah. Well, then we have another one that I feel like I heard about it in Seattle. I had never seen it anywhere else before, but it's called Stallball, and it's played a lot like Tommy Dollars, if you've ever done that, where you just put the dollar bills on the play field, right? Oh, gosh. So you can cover up any amount of the play field you want with the dollar that you're contributing. And most people, they go for the flippers or the ramps, entrance to the ramps or whatever. So a stall ball is the money on the count or on the play field or on the glass, right? And then we also have like a conga line setup of like everyone that's involved. So you'll have maybe seven or eight players, and you can't pass to the next player unless you stall the ball in some way. If you get into a scoop, if you get on a ramp, if you drain the ball, you're out, and then it goes to the next player. But as long as you get it hung up somewhere on the play field and you have enough time to transfer to the person behind you, then you can stall the ball and move on. but once you drain, you're out of the conga line, and then last man standing wins all the money. So scoops would be a wise choice, correct? Yeah. What are some of the other things to stall it? You could do magnets Like if you doing like maybe you start a Weapon X multi on X Or roller games or something like that Oh yeah totally Or maybe you hit thing flips and then thing hits the ball and you're like, next. Oh, that's so evil.
    6:36
    I'm dying to play this right now. I just got all pinballed out. Now I want to play it again. Oh, I've always been looking for more games. Why haven't I talked to you earlier? No problem. So I'll think of plenty more until next time we talk. Okay, good. Let's do that. We want to promote the Northwest Pinball Arcade Show, which is June 8th to 10th, NWPAS. It's a big, big event. So when a lot of people are going to be coming to the Northwest, and they are coming from all over North America, definitely check out SkillShot and the zine because you're going to see more things than just that and that app that you mentioned too. But that's a big, big tournament. You're going to be a part of it. We're also going to be introducing a new version of SkillShot. After 10 years, we've decided to change the format a little bit, have color cover, and it's going to look more like a pamphlet, like maybe you would get from Marco's Specialties or something. And the only downside to that is that it's going to eliminate our folding parties that we have. So when we release an issue, we have about 10 to 20 people come out from the community, and they get free drinks as long as they help us fold scenes. But these are going to show up already stapled and folded, which is going to be fantastic. The one thing about the magazine, old farts like me have to squint to see some of this stuff. And my glasses are already like Coke bottles. But no, maybe if it makes it a little bigger. But you know what? It was so neat that I had to save it. It was great. And now that that's color too, that's a lot of money and time put into Skillshare. Where does it all come from? We do ads. So Shorty's is our biggest advertiser. They've been a part of it since really early on. we always get an advertisement from add a ball and we also have a patreon you're welcome to contribute to that because we always put it all towards the zine and the podcast none of us are making money off of it we just do it because we love it but yeah patreon.com backslash skillshot we have rewards on there like we'll give you a shout out on the podcast or we'll give you a sneak peek at the new issue before it comes out I think we offered like a pinball party with me and Graham on there that only one person took us up on.
    8:40
    So we're going to see that at the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show. You're going to be there. And you did something years ago, and I want to give you credit for this because we're talking about how big this show is this year. There's a great women's competition that I heard about a few weeks ago when I was in Edmonton and talking to Ray Day and Geraine and Dave Stewart. We call Raymond the bone collector. Oh, I know about the bone collector. Yep. The only thing we were missing was Chris Specials. He wasn't there. Oh, right. I was hoping he would make the trip. But anyway, they were talking about how big this tournament is, and they're giving away a Hobbit pinball machine. That is so cool, but that tournament was started by you and also Babes in Pinland, which everyone knows about Bells and Chimes, but you were right there at the same time with Babes in Pinland and then doing this women's tournament. So kudos to you for that, and tell us about the history of both that women's tournament and Babes in Pinland. Sure. It's almost like they were created in a vacuum. I hadn't met Eka until I'd already been doing Babes in Pinball for a while. But I started it about two months after Bells and Chimes started it in San Francisco on the Bay. I've been writing about women in pinball for a very long time. and I have an article for when the Lucy edition of ACDC came out and I called it TNACDC because there was just too much TNA on it and that got a lot of buzz. But I've been writing about inclusivity within the pinball community and having it be less of just like a straight white guy club. So one of the owners of Attawell Travis one day, he's like, hey, would you ever want to host like a women's tournament or we would love to have you do it? I was like, yeah, that's a great idea. sure, let's do it. And I thought of a name and one of the punk bands I like is called Babes in Toyland. And so I was like, Babes in Pin Land, we'll just change that up. And so it's been going for about four years now. I hosted it for three years or so and got a little tired of it and I had to work early in the morning. So I passed it off to my friend Maureen and she's been doing an amazing job and she's really growing it. You would win passes for the top four or five players. We got 54 women in that tournament and that's pretty amazing on a Thursday night. It is amazing, and we're seeing more and more women's tournaments come out, and that big announcement that is going to be happening at replay with the WIT tournament. It's exciting, and I just witnessed an amazing women's final in New York City just a few weeks ago, and that was very, very exciting. There was a good crowd watching it. I know there were a lot of people watching the stream, and it's good pinball, but what I really like the most about it, and I'm sincere when I say this, was they were such good sports, and you don't always get that in mixed competition. It's been amazing.
    11:24
    I remember when I first started playing competitive pinball, it's been almost 10 years now. My first tournament was the Powder Puff tournament at Shorty's, which is all women. But there would be women from Canada and women from Portland, not a ton from Seattle. I just remember me and Julie Gray being the consistent ones. So if I beat her, she's like, all right, now you have to win the whole thing. or if she beat me and I was like, you have to win the whole tournament if it was co-ed. But there just wasn't a huge presence. There certainly were women playing and there's lots of women that I've known for years that, you know, they'll come out and play tournaments. But it wasn't until there was a space for it that women decided like, well, I like pinball and I'd like to play, but I don't think I'm ready for a tournament. And I'd say like, what about the women's tournament? And they're like, oh, well, I think I could play that. You know, like there's just a lot more, it feels a lot more inviting. and even when I've seen like when women would lose or win, there's like usually a hug afterwards, you know. Instantly.
    12:22
    That's the part I really enjoyed. And they're willing to teach people like even in game while you're playing a tournament game like, oh, I saw that you missed this shot. Did you know that that's worth like 5 million points right there? It's pretty casual and like really friendly. You know, you're an inspiration to some people and I know you heard the pinball profile that Stephanie Guida was on Yeah that was really sweet Yeah and Crystal Gemnick have created the Riptide podcast They done a few episodes now but they were talking about hearing yourself and Zoe and Jessica and they thought, we need more women in pinball. And now there's Mrs. Pin, and I know Megan Sprague is working behind the scenes and doing some podcasting and yourself. That had to be touching for you. It's fun, and it's great. Well, you get that feedback too. I do sometimes, yeah. It's been a little while. Because we're not so new and exciting anymore, I guess. I don't know. And we are very eccentric. So I know that that tends to turn people off. They're not in the Northwest. But when we first started, it was really fun to like to have someone recognize my voice or say hello or, you know, recognize me. And even going to Pinball, I met a lot of people that I was aware of, like on Facebook or just through like seeing them on IFPA or something. And it was really cool to meet so many more people. But part of the reason that I do podcasts about pinball and podcasts about music and write about music is that I want there to be more women. And if like I am that, so why not do it? I think that there should be more diversity and more voices and those kinds of things. And if I can add to that, then I will. When I watch some women play in competitions, I explain this to my wife. I said, you know, there is no one strong dominant group. It's not men. It's not women. It's not kids. It's anyone. This isn't just lip service. I'm saying when we get more women playing pinball, you're going to see some big championships won by many women because I see the quality in so many great players. I know I've had my butt handed to me many times. What's the best way to get more women involved? Well, I've heard that being condescending and explaining things to them really helps. Yeah, right. No, I'm just kidding. really just like when I was starting with basic pin land, I would go over to anyone, any female presenting person that I would see, because we also take, um, you know, trend trans people as you, if you identify as female, you're welcome to play. And I would just go around and say, Hey, it's only $5. Did you want, like, I would just start a rapport with people that I saw in the bar, just promoting it or just talking to people. And I've met a lot of people just by, uh, Oh, Hey, the start button's right there. I saw you looking for the, You're playing an old EM and you weren't sure what the start button is. It's weird when, like, it's a hard thing to do when you're approaching someone that you don't know and just try not to sound like a know-it-all. But if you do it from a place of love, it should be fine. But just letting people know about tournaments or even just, hey, can I play a game with you? You seem like you are good at this or you have fun. Just starting a rapport with people I think helps a lot. That's a neat analogy because as I look at some video games, especially the home video games, I'm lost. Whereas something like a pinball machine, okay, there's a plunger, there's a ball, there's two flippers. I can figure out the rest or at least find a way. It's funny because the video games, I'm lost in. I'm an old guy, right? So I'm like the old Atari 2600. Here's a joystick. Here's one button. That's it. Not multiple triggers, headsets, moving the fingers around. Forget about it. Right. I mean, but I even tell my boyfriend, like, all right, remember that this one has four flippers on it, or, like, this one's got three. I'm like, you always forget about your upper flipper on Tron. Yeah. Oh, yeah, thanks so much. See, and that wasn't condescending. So there's some good advice from Kayla. That is a good point. We've definitely talked about Skillshare and the now three-plus years of podcasting and the ten-plus years of the zine itself. but you've also done some other podcasting for my other love which is music and you're a huge punk fan aren't you yeah yeah that's for sure i went to the ramones museum in berlin it was like one of the happiest places i've ever been i started out going to shows when i was like 12 13 years old and i saw some like bigger rock bands play in my early teens and like my mom thought it was a phase i was just dying my hair pink and like now we're 20 years later and like I've seen bands all around the world and, you know, been countless places. So it's just, it's not, it's not going away.
    17:04
    I do reviews for Razor Cake. I do band interviews for New Noise magazine based out of Berkeley. Yeah. I constantly, like even today, a friend was like, Hey, can I send you a demo of my band to review? I'm like, sure. Boy, you know, I would love to see a Ramones pinball machine someday. I remember the day Joey died. In fact, I remember exactly where I was. Oh yeah. I think it was just a couple of days ago was his anniversary or his birthday anniversary. I'm not sure. What were you doing? I was at work and it came across the internet and I worked in an office with another woman and we're about the same age and we both kind of had a bit of a tear. We're like, wow, he's pretty young. And I'll tell you something. The first time I heard the Ramones, I didn't get it. I didn't dislike it. I just thought, okay, that song kind of to me with ignorant ears sounded the same as that one and that one and that one. and then I started reading up about it. So that kind of made me more interested finding out about the history of the band. You know, you could go to a concert and see 10 songs and it's only 20 minutes long. I loved it. It's awesome. They're magnificent in their simplicity. You look at it and it's like looking at a Jackson Pollock painting, right? Where you're like, I could splatter paint on a canvas, but then you try to do it and it doesn't look anything like that. Good point. And you know, another thing too about them, They were so darn funny. Mm-hmm. I loved hearing them in interviews. I have a friend who used to be their handler, like, towards the end of their career, and she was walking Joey out of a hotel room or a hotel lobby one day, and he saw George Carlin, and he was such a huge fan of George Carlin. And he's like, oh, my gosh, like, he's right there. And she's like, you should go talk to him. He goes, no, I can't do that. Like, no, I'm too shy. So they go to the front desk and ask him to ring up Carlin's room, and he leaves a message. He's like, Hey, this is Joey Ramone. Hi, George Carlin. I just want to say I have a really big fan of you. Okay, maybe you call me back. All right, bye. He just left him a little message on his hotel room phone that how much Joey Ramone loves George Carlin. She's like, I just hope that one day he got to listen to that message Oh I sure he did I hope so That so sweet I know it 30 years old now and maybe a little dated but when I was young my God, there was no television show I loved more than The Simpsons. And when the Ramones were on singing happy birthday to Mr. Burns and the Rolling Stones were killed because of it, that was a great episode. But also too, I'll let you know this, Kayla, I do a classic rock show and we play all kinds of different music. So I'll play some Ramones all the time. Awesome. One of the interviews I do, and the reason I do Pinball Profile is because I interview a lot of rock stars. I interviewed Dee Dee Ramone. Oh, boy. Yeah. That's awesome. Uh-huh. Yeah. And then there was a book called Poisoned Heart. I married Dee Dee Ramone, and that was done by Vero Ramone.
    19:59
    So that was kind of interesting to get both different angles. Totally. Yeah. So, again, the music really didn't catch me at first, and then the interest did, and then I was just like, this is just fun music. Yeah. And I got to go, before it closed, to CBGB's, another. Oh, that's cool. Yeah, that meant a lot to me because of the history there. So, anyway.
    20:23
    We could talk about the Ramones all the time, but you had mentioned that you've done a lot of podcasting and certainly writing, too, not only in North America and the Seattle scene, but kind of all over too, and that's kind of led you to different places. You've spent some time over in Wales. You've played some pinball. I think you even went to the highway pinball headquarters when it was open. I did, yeah. I got really lucky. I had never been to Europe before, and I had some friends over there.
    20:49
    I've known a woman from Ireland for 10 years ago. We went to school together a long time ago in Glasgow in school. And I was like, you know what? I'm just going to figure out how to do this. And it was my first trip to Europe. I was going to spend like four or five days in London. And then I started looking at things to do around pinball there and in Europe in general. And I found out that the I forget what it was even called now, but there was a show in Wales, like a big competition and pinball convention, basically. And it was at the Highway Pinball Factory. I was like, well, I have to go to that. And I met up with Thomas Evros, who owned the pipeline in London. and he and his son Oscar gave me a ride from London to Wales like the next day. Like I'd known him for less than 24 hours. And he's like, yep, if you're ready at 6 a.m., we'll drive you to Wales. So I got to play in the competition. And, of course, like one of the first matches I had was against Kaylee George. Like the two people from Seattle in this room had to play against each other. That's crazy. Yeah. I almost beat him, too. It was really close. He had to play his last ball. That's good. Make him work for it, right? Yep. and I got to see prototypes of Alien before, like way before it was ready to come out. They showed us like versions of the Alien Queen that they were thinking about going for, the top bumpers of the eggs that they were looking at. Then they're like, we can only show you prototype play of Alien 1 or Alien 2. Which one do you want? And I was like, both. Like, what are you talking about? Show us both. But that was a fun place to be in where it's like, you know, no recording, no pictures, nothing. Like I just, you guys have, you're getting in like sneak peek stuff. It was not the most glamorous space, but it was definitely like a work in progress, you know? Like they had CNC machines and they had paint booths. And you could see where the process starts and ends. And he gave us a whole factory tour. And I really enjoyed what he was trying to do with the modular machines and something I'd never seen before or since. But unfortunately, not every dream can become a reality for very long. So I'm glad that I got to see it. Yeah, it's a tough business. it's too bad because I enjoyed playing Full Throttle. I enjoyed playing Alien, too.
    22:59
    And, you know, you don't like seeing things like that happen, especially to good people. But, you know, maybe those people will all get hired somewhere else because they've done some great things. And, you know, fingers crossed. But that's pretty cool that you got to go and check it out. And their speaker that year was Joe Balzer who did, like, Apollo 13 and Baywatch. Yeah, he worked at Gottlieb and Bally and all sorts of places. But I think he was trying to get on board with Highway, and I'm not sure. He ended up doing that Houdini game instead. Which is a really nice and beautiful game. My favorite game that I own is the Simpsons Pinball Party, and that's one of his masterpieces as well, too. Oh, that's very cool. Yeah, he was a nice guy to meet. Well, Kayla, I've enjoyed talking to you, and this is great. And again, we'll see you at the Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show, although I guess Saturday night you're going to be a little busy going to check out our good friends, Barenaked Ladies. Yeah.
    23:54
    I'm like, well, I can do both things, pinball and hang out with Ed. Maybe I'll convince him to come to the show, too. Like, skip your sound check, just come down to Tacoma and play some pinball with me, and we'll go back to the show. I wouldn't be surprised if he shows up at that show some way, somehow. Right, yeah. He's got to be aware of it. If not, I'll text him.
    24:13
    Well, say hello to him for me and all his fans of Bare Naked Ladies and their big tour right now for the Fake Nudes album, which is spectacular. I saw it earlier in, I think it was November. You're going to enjoy it a lot. Nice. I'm excited. It's their last Summer on Earth tour again that they do every year. That's so great.
    24:33
    Kayla, thank you very much for joining us here today. Thank you. It was really fun. I appreciate it. Some Ramones to take you out. How about that? All right. Sounds wonderful. All right. Yeah, Gabby Gabby, hey. This has been your Pinball Profile. You can find our group on Facebook. We're also on Twitter at Pinball Profile. Email us pinballprofile at gmail.com. and please subscribe on either iTunes Stitcher or Google Play. Have a good one. I'm Jeff Teolas.
    24:58
    There are several fine young men who I'm sure are going to go far. Ladies and gentlemen, the Ramones.
    25:04
    These minstrels will soothe my jangled nerves. I'd just like to say this gig sucks. Hey, up yours, Springfield. One, two, three, four.
    25:18
    Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you Happy birthday, Percy Happy birthday to you Go to hell, you old bastard Hey, I think they liked us Have the Rolling Stones killed?