Jersey Beat #57 (Weehawken NJ)

The mid-to-late '90s were a golden era for music zines, one that we'll probably never see again. First of all, the record labels are going broke because of their incompetent business practices, and have little or no money to spend on print ads. Music journalism has largely fled from publishing on paper, moving towards the flying electrons and random snark of the worldwide web. With issue #57, Jim Testa's Jersey Beat zine hit another milestone, breaking the 100-page mark in its 15th year of publishing.

So, what does this super-fat issue of Jersey Beat include? How about interviews with punk legends Murphy's Law, Weston, Footstone, Kid With Man Head, Tommy Griggz, Trip 66, hip-hop band Illness and emo forebears the Promise Ring. This issue also includes even more reviews and columns than ever, as well as Testa's coverage of the 1996 Asbury Music Awards, held in Asbury Park NJ, and coverage of the WE Festival of D.I.Y. culture in Wilmington NC.

I know that I've got more issues of JB tucked away, so we'll pick the story up another time!

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #57
• Summer 1996
• B&W, 104-pages, newsprint (plus slick green covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Murphy's Law interview
Weston interview
The Promise Ring interview
Trip 66 interview
WE Festival 1996 coverage
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #56 (Weehawken NJ)

Issue #56 of Jersey Beat represents the music zine's 14th anniversary...a rare milestone in a zine world where publications fly by the few newsstands that carry them, squeezing out a few issues before disappearing into the ether. One of the keys to the zine's long-running, moderate success is that editor/publisher Jim Testa had a good eye for writing talent and enlisted contributions from entertaining columnists like David Brock, Greg Matherly and Rodney Leighton as well as reviewers like Bill Lutz, Donny the Punk, Tom Brebric and, well, yours truly....

This anniversary issue also said goodbye to a punk rock institution, the Ramones, whose farewell tour is covered by a great Testa editorial and article "Last Dance With The Ramones." As part of this issue's coverage of the notorious NYC punk club, Donny the Punk's guest editorial asks "Is ABC No Rio Worth Saving?" while a lengthy article covers the clubs checkered history. Testa's "How I Spent My Spring Vacation" covers the 1996 SxSW Music Conference and punk rocker Johnny Puke's tour diary documents his band Cletus and their cross-country trip.

Band interviews include Chisel, Hell No, the Melting Hopefuls, Solution A.D. and Birthday Girl. The issue also includes an obituary for Philadelphia scenester Carol Schutzbank, the editor of the city's very cool B Side music zine. Like usual, a lot of review columns and tons of reviews (including my words on albums from Junebug, the Nukes, Slip, Sven Gali and the Time Lodgers) wrap up a bigger-than-ever issue of Jersey Beat.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #56
• Spring 1996
• B&W, 88-pages, newsprint (plus slick covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Chisel interview
Melting Hopefuls interview
Solution A.D. interview
"ABC No Rio" article
Cletus tour diary
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #55 (Weehawken NJ)

This is Jersey Beat's "Old Punks Issue" and it includes some ground-breaking coverage of the emerging punk rock revival that was being spearheaded by the overwhelming commercial success of the Offspring and Green Day. As part of this punk rock coverage, issue #55 includes interviews with All's Bill Stevenson, Jawbreaker, CIV and the Circle Jerks, as well as what could possible have been Green Day's first interview, from 1989 in Testa's Grot music zine, a Jersey Beat spin-off that covered non-NJ bands.

This issue also features Testa's coverage of Lollapalooza 1995 and a photo gallery of the Warped Tour 1995, along with interviews/articles on the bands Urchins, Mars Needs Women and Into Another plus the usual review columns and big ole review sections for demo tapes, records, zines and the like.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #55
• Fall/Winter 1995
• B&W, 80-pages, newsprint (plus slick covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Green Day interview
Circle Jerks interview
All interview
CIV interview
Jawbreaker interview
Lollapalooza '95 coverage
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #54 (Weehawken NJ)

A couple more years have passed, and I must have found this issue of Jersey Beat at the long lost Tower Records store in Nashville. The zine looks a lot like it always has, only fatter (with more pages), and a return to the slick cover.

This is a special D.I.Y. issue with a lot of information on home recording, running an indie record label, promoting basement shows and other valuable stuff that is still relevant today. The D.I.Y. special report includes interviews with notable do-it-yourselfers like Jack Rabid of The Big Takeover zine, Tom Cassar of Vital Music and Mailorder, Jeff Thies of Too Damn Hype Records and others.

Issue #54 of Jersey Beat also includes the zine's typical well-rounded music coverage, including Q&A interviews with American Standard, One Nature, Empty Stares, Flatus, Halo Boots, and Dog Pound. The issue also features a lot of (expanded) review pages for singles, live shows, demo tapes, records and zines. A few columns cover 60s garage rock and indie music. All in all, one of the most entertaining and informative music zines that you'd find at the time....

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #54
• Summer 1995
• B&W, 80-pages, newsprint (plus slick covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
American Standard interview
Halo Boots interview
Empty Stares interview
Jack Rabid interview
Special "D.I.Y" section
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #49 (Weehawken NJ)

A couple of issues into their eleventh year, Jim Testa's Jersey Beat was still a vital, growing publication with its finger on the pulse of the NJ/NY music scene. Issue #49 presents a "state of the state" report on New Jersey rock, but unlike a lot of music zines, JB broke the scene down into separate articles on each city/area's scene: New Brunswick, Hoboken, Jersey City and South Jersey. This "Joisey" section includes band features on local bands like Crocodile Shop and the Swales as well as an article on New Jersey rap music.

The issue also includes pieces on the bands Mind Over Matter, Black Train Jack, and the Sons of Elvis as well as Testa's coverage of the 1993 South By Southwest Music Festival and his "Confessions Of A Club Rat" diary/column. As always, this issue of Jersey Beat includes a slew of cassette and record reviews and a couple pages of zine reviews.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #49
• Summer 1993
• B&W, 64-pages, newsprint (including covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Black Train Jack interview
Mind Over Matter interview
Sons of Elvis interview
Special "Joisey" scene report section
Jim Testa's SxSW '93 coverage
"Confessions Of A Club Rat" diary/column
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos