On the Lower Frequencies

by Erica Dawn Lyle

On the Lower Frequencies is at once a manual, memoir, and history of creative resistance in a world awash with war and poverty. An icon on the 1990s zine scene, Iggy Scam traces not only the evolution of cities, but of his own thinking, from his early focus on more outré forms of resistance through more contemplative times as he becomes preoccupied with the need for a more affirmative vision of the future. In one of the book’s key pieces, Scam celebrates the history and passing of Hunt’s Donuts in San Francisco’s Mission District. On one level an epitaph for a beloved hangout and on another a metaphor for the effects of gentrification, it’s the untold history of an entire neighborhood in a single retail establishment. Whether handing out fake Starbucks coupons or dreaming of a future with more public art and punk holidays, Scam gives the reader inspiration for living defiantly.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Music, Politics, History, Biography

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2008

About the author

Erica Dawn Lyle is a writer, experimental musician, curator, and cultural instigator who lives in New York and Florida. Formerly the touring guitar player for Riot Grrl punk legends, Bikini Kill, as a solo performer, she has released musical collaborations with Bernadette Mayer, Kim Gordon, The Raincoats, Kathleen Hanna, Brontez Purnell, and many more. The author of several books, she has been a frequent contributor to Artforum, Art in America, Frieze, and other publications. Her artist books are in the permanent collection at MOMA, SFMOMA, LACMA, Yale's Beinecke Library, the University of California Berkeley Bancroft Library, The Getty Museum, The Hammer Museum, and other institutions, and her writings, papers, and correspondence are permanently held and viewable at the Erica Dawn Lyle archive at University of Miami. In collaboration with her partner, Midnight Piper Forman, she is currently at work on Our Place In The Sun, a speculative fiction film about climate collapse and gender transition in Florida that has screened as a work in progress at North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art and California School of The Arts in Valencia, CA. Her most recent book is The Knight of Cups (Belladonna Press, 2023).

Reviews

[Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I live in San Francisco at a time where everyone i know who lives here seems to be holding their breath and keeping their fingers crossed that they'll weather the storm of a tidal wave of evictions. the last few months reveal the bubbling of an anti gentrification movement about to explode.
so it's in this rather surreal moment i'm living through as a SF resident that i finally picked up this book and devoured it. this book made me feel a lot less hopeless than i did before i started it. i feel like i'm not good at giving an even handed broad review of books, but i'll say what i liked about it.
-i thought it would be just about punk rock life in the 90s, which would have been cool and fine, but i was pleasantly surprised to find that it was much more than that. there's so much story telling from the streets of the tenderloin and the mission district.
-erick's telling of all the drama and resilience of life on the streets in the TL and Mission using humor and personal reflections reveals this deep appreciation for the culture of lumpen life in SF that really resonates with my own feeling about living here.
-i learned about all sorts of mission district history that i previously was totally ignorant of. now i'm inspired to poke around in the library myself to find out more.
-if you only read one part of the book let me recommend the story of Hunt's donuts which used to exist on 20th and Mission as the "epicenter of crime". within the story of the donut shop erick tells a broader story of the neighborhood and the racist police and politicians that tried desperately to keep the mission from becoming a latino district.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is worth the cover price just for the perfect double-sided 1/2 sheet flyer that can be made from the "Scam Punks vs.Starbucks" report on p.31 (full disclosure: I took this out of the SF library... though I will likely buy it after photocopying). Which would be a good tribute, as much of this writing started out in the photocopied zines Scam and The Turd-Filled Donut. Though never exactly competing with the Examiner or Chronicle, the TFD was (and hopefully will continue to be)a labor of gutter punk love in solidarity with the homeless and downtrodden but often extremely funny denizens of south of market and mission SF folk.


I remember many an illegal "generator show" where I came down to the 16th St BART station from my where I was working to catch various loud, ragged, and energetic punks playing without permits in the epicenter of SF's heroin supermarket known as 16th and Mission. The battles young Erick ably documents with the gentrifiers that threatened to drive anyone making less than $100,000 from San Francisco during the great dot com plague of the late 90s continue, perhaps soon abated by the subprime crisis and various other late stage capitalist crises. Lucky for me and other readers Mr. Lyle will be around to chronicle said battles, along with struggles against the US war machine's "global war on terror" and domestic variations thereof. He and his many friends and sometimes nefarious but never boring associates continue to work to make a better future for the hapless babies coming in to this fucked up world.

More power to them (Mr.Lyle and his friends and the babies too).

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of experiences, some reprinted from his zine SCAM and TFD because it takes me back to the SF that no longer exists. Stories of homeless advocates, needle exchange workers and people generally trying to make a difference while trying to make a living in a society that was becoming increasingly expensive and limiting. You can still find some of these characters deep in the Tenderloin but most of the city has been pretty sterilized at this point. It's a good read for anyone who enjoys reminiscing about punk shows in squats, working at a shelter, living on cheap booze and donuts and DIY as a concept before it became co-opted by coffee table books sold at Urban Outfitters.

[Peggii · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating underground history of human beings that are too often forgotten through history: squatters, homeless, musician.

90s gentrification of SF mission through the lenses of real people from the street.

It was hard for me to keep up at times with the writing but I still loved it.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so far! I actually punched my fist in the air reading the first story! Ok, so I was having a very emotional PMS morning, so that might account for part of it, including the laughing and crying (I laughed! I cried! I almost threw up my breakfast!) But this is great writing. And very moving and funny, as I can relate to having lived through the recent dot com gentrification of San Francisco (I was pushed out to the east bay, but hey, it's warmer over there!). And I have a fairly good idea I know the (asshole) eviction lawyer he's talking about in the first story (Andrew Zacks?).

Anyway, I've only read the first two essays/stories so far, but I love this book. Seriously, I feel inspired.

[Dr Janice Flux · Rating 5 out of 5]

i'm putting together a longer review for modern times, but i just have to say a few words about how important this book is. yes, any dedicated reader of scam and turd-filled donut has read a lot of these pieces before, but this is really our history writ large, and worthy of continued introspection and appreciation.

[Scott Satterwhite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collections of writings by an amazing human being.

[Ciara · Rating 5 out of 5]

hey! my best friend erick wrote this book. okay, he's my best friend on paper only, but he did write this book, & i did like it quite a bit. it's the underground radical history of san francisco from the last ten years, as told by people living in residency motels, homeless advocates, gay shame people, needles exchange workers, assorted punks, anarchists, & other deviants. some of it was stolen & re-printed/re-worked from erick's zine "scam," or other previously-written sources, but having it all collected together in one volume that has actually been type-set is a pretty positive development. the thing i liked best about this book is that it never ever once devolved into apathy or hopelessness. there was always a focus on the creative things people do to further their political causes & the general cause of humans trying to live with dignity. in the course of telling the stories, a lot of useful information about implementing tactics was passed along. & part of it are also very funny. & it has some illustrations, for those people who get twitchy when confronted with too many words.

[Chadwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very sold collection of writings by Erick Lyle, taken from the various 'zines he wrote for in the '90s. Some of the pieces here are wonderfully evocative, whether they chronicle the dismaying process of the late-90s gentrification of San Francisco's Mission District, or wonderfully earnest calls to live a richer life, to effect change in the world, rather than just complaining about it. Almost all of them are well-written and engrossing. A few of the articles and interviews concerned themselves with the ins and outs of the late 90s Mission punk rock scene a little more than I gave a shit about, and some of the earliest are tiresomely punker-than-thou, especially in their easy condemnation of the hipsters that succeeded the punks as the Mission's latest white interlopers. Also, the whole not having a job as a matter of principal thing seems kind of like an asshole way of life, especially for someone who idolizes the Wobblies and various labor leaders as much as Lyle does on some pages. Overall, though, this is a fine addition to the literature of the city I live in.

[Julian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erick Lyle writes about a community of artists, writers and punks who beginning in the early 90's found ways to takeover empty buildings and feed hundreds of homeless people, start needle exchange programs, publish literature, and organize mass protests and influence San Francisco's political climate with nothing more than the support of each other and those involved. A compilation of Lyle's "Scam" zine which itself is great, and overall a terrific documentation of a huge part of recent San Francisco history which is often spun differently by the more popular local press such as the chronicle and others, which is exactly why it is important to seek out and read publications such as a "Scam" in order to be fully informed.

[Robin J · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a lot of books that I like to call economic tourism--books about people pretending for a short time to be be poor. This is not one of these books. Erik Lyle actually lives the life of a homeless squatter musician/writer. His perspective on San Francisco, politics, the poor, community, the nature of freedom is fascinating. Lyle's writing is funny at times, poetic at others and often very insightful. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard to get into but good message and premise

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first, I wasn't sure about this book. It's largely about squatters and punks in San Francisco. I was reading it at a friend's suggestion to help get amped about moving West.

The first part of the book shows a very reactive approach to politics, injustice, and repression. It's an "us vs. them" paradigm that just seems unlikely to ever achieve anything. I was struck, however, by the "sub"community - the close-knitt vibe, etc. There was trust within the community, but fear and skepticism without.

They never achieve a fully perfect approach to change, but there is a clear and intentional turning point in the book where the group becomes constructive. They start living the change they want to see. They learn to embrace others' imperfections and still welcome them in as collaborators. There is room for everyone with a pure aim even if they are not a pure model.

Read it at the same time as "Community: The structure of belonging" and they made for interesting cross-thought.

[Artnoose McMoose · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this just on the heels of Cheesemonger, so I feel like I got a pretty good dose of 90s Bay Area punk. This is more or less a compilation of articles from Scam zine, Turd Filled Donut, and other sources, some of which I read the first time around, when it was coming out. I like the way it's put in somewhat chronological order. It's also a glimpse into the San Francisco punk/activist scene at the time, with more of an emphasis on work surrounding homelessness issues that you'd get from another source. Some of the articles seemed really similar to other ones, and I wonder what the reading experience would be like for someone who had never spent time in San Francisco.

[Yannis Cosmadopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapter on Hunt's doughnuts was a fascinating history text. Personally, I greatly enjoyed his story on grazing in the dot coms near Martin's. I might have met him in both locations in a day...

Agree with him that day Iraq war II, and Matt campaign were among the strongest SF moments.

favorite quote:
THE SIDEWALK'S ALWAYS BROWNER ON THE OTHER SIDE: This reporter overheard two homeless guys talking in filthy, urine soaked Clarion Alley in the Mission. One said, "I want to go see the new movie, The Planet of the Apes." The other said, "Hey! They should call it, Planet of the 6th STREET Apes'! Huh huh!" Now THAT hurts!

You can always shit on someone lower than you...

[Ethan]

Hmm...I love SCAM magazine, but when I tried to read this, I found that it was less of the SCAM stuff and more of Turd Filled Donut, the little weekly newsletter that Erick and some other folks put out around the Mission and Tenderloin for a while. Its funny, but it doesn't really translate to book form so well. So I put it in the bathroom and just open it up randomly every now and then, and its pretty good for that.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What does it say that all of my favorite old punk zines are finding their way into a soft-covered "adulthood?" Stay tuned for an answer. Or don't. At any rate, this is a g-e-m GEM.

In the end, I recommend this to anyone and everyone. My advice however is to take it in doses. I read it in a 2-3 day session straight through, and a lot of things get repeated. I find it's best to read these things as they originally appeared: with gaps between publishings.

[Marty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired and inspiring storytelling. Definitely a good reminder of what made Scam and Turd-Filled Donut great zines. Well-written underground history of San Francisco from the turn of the 21st Century.

My only complaint is when Erick gets into explicitly "political" territory he articulates this mushy progressivism that comes off as naive. Maybe endearing to some, but off-putting to me.

[kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great on the ground view of life in san francisco, witnessing the dot.com bust, yuppie invasions, police repression, creative resistance, occupying space while envisioning the kind of world we want and taking it. this book is so important to anyone in the city who feels the weight of isolation and the stab of despair but keeps getting up every morning to add to the struggle

[Crckt · Rating 4 out of 5]

All you guys that lived in SF during the days of mission gentrification, the rise of SUVs and the coverage of what was, in this humble reporter's opinion, the legendary poor people's paper, "The Turd Filled Donut." Read, reminisce, get inspired, and laugh all from the joys of creative monkey wrenching of the system.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this this winter along with Cindy Crab's Doris compilation. I bought them both on their book tour here. Scam was always pretty much my favorite zine - one of the few that I read through the years... And I love San Francisco! Generator shows, night-time raids, militant protests, poor people fighting back - it's chicken soup for the soul...

[Alexis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, raw exploration of San Francisco via ethnographic punk poetry from a zine writer reporting alongside the dot-com bubble and burst of the early 2000s. His writing is supplemented with SCAM interviews with peers, politicians, and artists. Many spatial histories of the Mission, Tenderloin, and Market St., and a lovely read to boot.

[wheels · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was reading pieces of this (and of course i've read many more pieces of it in zine form) and got very wistful about how many friends' lives intersect with stories in this book. i look forward to getting a copy for my shelf, to keep as an historical piece about parts of my community.
"PUNK'S NOT DEAD BUT REAGAN IS"

OK. I finished it. I totally recommend it.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This made everything so much more like everything Really awesome journalism and organizing and taking over space in San Francisco Mission district, in accordance with the coaltion to end homelessness, the needle exchange, and the TFD Turd Filled Donut street sheet. Takes place in the 90s and thousands. Really inspiring stuff.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

a collection of writing from one of the best zines ever. homelessness, public art, punk stuff, street demos, gentrification. really one of the best accounts of SF's Mission District in the 1990's, maybe even better than Michelle Tea.

[Madeleine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iggy Scam (who's now back to calling himself Erick Lyle) is one of the best zine writers of all time, and now he's complied the best writings of Scam zine and created an amazing book about 1990s activism in the Mission District in SF. If this were a cereal, it'd be Lucky Charms!

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is something slimy about San Francisco that I can't resist, perhaps this is what it would have been like to slum around City Lights before all the sushi bars took over Columbia Ave. Read Sara's review for the Olympian on her page.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent overview of the San Francisco underside circa late '90s to late naughts. Erick's writing style combines the best of zine writing's introspection with muckraking journalism's drive to expose. A great overview of radical politics and sf political culture in the Bush era.

[Jonathan Pistorino · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gives great insight into how interesting San Francisco used to be when there were more punks/alternative people around. Somewhat difficult to read as it is a collection of articles from the Scam zine but still very interesting.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating look at the recent history of my town, but also a very mixed bag. I sympathize with the author's viewpoint despite his apparent lack of sympathy for mine. I really liked the more lyrical and self-aware parts, but some of the self-righteousness in other parts was infuriating.