Blue Ryder #30 (Olean NY)

This seems to be the last issue of Blue Ryder that I have in my files right now, although there are no doubt a few more older issues hidden away in one unpacked box or another. Issue #30 follows along the same lines as its immediate predecessor, featuring an entertaining and informative mix of culture and politics, with reprints from the underground press and original material by editor Ken Wagner and staff.

In this issue you'll find short pieces on the rock bands Coffin Break and Monster Magnet (I love the "I Buy Music For Minors" t-shirt worn by the Coffin Break band member, as this was during the whole "Tipper sticker" phase of music censorship); reprints of articles on "Right-To-Lifer Murders," Joe Bob Briggs' "Global Aardvarking" and Mickey Z's Sex Pistols tribute, "Rock and Roll's Greatest Moment." There's a piece on "Cyber Sex" by Chris Molnar, a weird little story called "Silly Monkey" and a handful of poems, a bunch of cartoons (including several from Ace Backwards) and Wagner's insightful zine and music reviews.

I don't remember how long after this issue Blue Ryder carried on, but at this point the zine was as interesting and vital as anything being published in the underground, and it turned me onto a lot of other worthwhile publications (which, unfortunately, meant spending a whole lot more money on zines!).

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #30
• July/August 1993
• B&W, 16-pages (quarter-fold tabloid)
• Style: reprint zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Coffin Break
Monster Magnet
"Silly Monkey"
"Cyber Sex" (The Paper)
"Right-To-Lifer Murders" (The Human Quest)
"Global Aardvarking" (We Are The Weird)
Mickey Z's "Rock and Roll's Greatest Moment" (Incite Information)
--> plus poetry, cartoons, zine reviews and lots of zine ads

Blue Ryder #29 (Olean NY)

I seem to be missing a large swath of copies of Blue Ryder here (over a year), but it's obvious from issue #29 that editor/publisher Ken Wagner had bounced back somewhat from the cash flow problems that made previous issues so...shall we say..."thin" in stature, if not in content? Going with a quarter-fold half-sheet tabloid format, Blue Ryder climbed back up to sixteen healthy pages with this issue, each page packed with quality content.

By this time, Wagner had begun referring to Blue Ryder as "the best of the underground," his quest to make the zine into a sort of alternative Utne Reader altered, somewhat, by economic and practical realities. In my opinion, Blue Ryder had found a strong identity with this issue, providing readers with a balanced mix of reprinted material and original reviews of music and zines. Included in this issue are a couple of good articles from Jim Romensko's Obscure zine concerning the notorious "Frank," publisher of the incendiary psychozine Livin' In A Powder Keg..." that ask the question "Where's Frank?" while attempting to answer with the killer-in-training's alleged last interview. "Forfeitures and Seizures: Legalized Theft!" is reprinted from the semi-Libertarian zine Urine Nation News and "Secret Gov't Files on Jim, Jim & Janis" is from Harry Wasserman and the Alternative Media syndicate.

There are also original short pieces on the Disco Kings and the Goo Goo Dolls, Ben Weasel's "Doing A Single? Then Do It Right!" article reprinted from Jim Testa's Glut music zine, lots of music and zine reviews, and even more cartoon strips and zine ads than previous. Throw in some literary content that few other zines bothered with and Blue Ryder seemed to have hit its stride at this point, delivering a strong, entertaining issue that would appeal to a lot of different readers.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #29
• May/June 1993
• B&W, 16-pages (quarter-fold tabloid)
• Style: reprint zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
The Disco Kings
The Goo Goo Dolls
Kurt Nimmo's "Eight Vignettes" (Catholic Girls)
Ben Weasel's "Doing A Single? Then Do It Right!" (Glut)
"Where's Frank?" (Obscure)
"The Psycho's Last Interview" (Obscure)
"Forfeitures and Seizures: Legalized Theft!" (Urine Nation News)
"Secret Gov't Files on Jim, Jim and Janis" (Alternative Media)
--> plus poetry, cartoons, zine reviews and lots of zine ads

Blue Ryder #24 (Olean NY)

By the time of issue #24 of Ken Wagner's excellent Blue Ryder zine, money had become a big problem. Forced by economics to scale back, this issue was the slightest of those that I have in my files. Printed on a huge sheet of newsprint (like your daily newspaper) and quarter-folded down to the size of the original Rolling Stone or Rock magazine, Blue Ryder #24 was still jam-packed with both reprinted and original content from the underground press.

Blue Ryder #24 kicks off with Wagner's "Underground Overview," a review and commentary on the news being reported by the alternative to the alternative press. Also on the front page you'll find Sharon Eiker's "Girlie Gone Bad" from Frontier Report zine and "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama," my interview with brilliant fringe musician Eugene Chadbourne. There's "A New Punk Manifesto" by Joel from Profane Existence, "Supreme Court Totally Nude" by legendary drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs and "Twisted Image" cartoons by Ace Backwards. Wagner had begun reviewing a lot more zines by this time, so there are a number of well-written short reviews of various publications, as well as a smattering of music reviews. Due to the limited space available in this issue, Wagner admits that he had to cut back on the poetry and literary content so prevalent in earlier issues. Never fear, dear reader, for Blue Ryder would later bounce back with some strong efforts....

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #24
• July/August 1992
• B&W, 4-pages (quarter-fold tabloid)
• Style: reprint zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Eugene Chadbourne interview (Radical Pizza)
"Girlie Gone Bad" (Frontier Report)
"A New Punk Manifesto" (Profane Existence)
"Supreme Court Totally Nude" (We Are The Weird)
"Viet Nam: Agent Orange Legacy Continues" (World Perspectives)
--> plus poetry, cartoons, zine reviews and a few zine ads

Blue Ryder #17 (Olean NY)

Blue Ryder editor/publisher Ken Wagner had a brilliant and ambitious idea – create an Utne Reader for the world of underground publishing. Each issue of Blue Ryder included reprints of articles, rants and reviews culled from a wide spectrum of, as Wagner called them, "underground, alternative, small press & micropress publications." As good as Wagner's idea was, and his execution wasn't half-bad, money was always a problem and Blue Ryder often had to scrape by on a shoestring budget. You never knew what shape the zine would take when it hit your mailbox.

This issue, Blue Ryder #17, from April/May 1991 is a great example of the zine's best work. Printed on big 11"x17" paper, folded into standard 8.5"x11" magazine size and stapled, this issue had some heft and content behind it. Articles included Joe Peacott's "Anarchy and the Left," from his booklet of essays, Against Separatism; an excerpt of David Barsamian's interview with political activist Noam Chomsky from Bad Haircut zine; "Great White Fathers Meet" from Reality Sandwich and lots more political content from anarcho-leftist zines like Urine Nation News, The Shadow and Black Eye. There's also a lot of poetry taken from various literary-oriented zines and a bunch of comic strips, including the ubiquitous Ace Backwards.

Normally, an issue of Blue Ryder wasn't nearly as politically-oriented as this one, Wagner reprinting a diverse range of cultural and political material (including, I must admit, a fair amount of stuff from various zines published by the Reverend). Influenced, perhaps, by the George the First's war in Iraq, Wagner leaned further left than usual with this issue. With an interesting and appropriate Seth Friedman cover, Blue Ryder #17 offered up lots of "food for thought!"

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #17
• April/May 1991
• B&W, 36-pages (including covers)
• Style: reprint zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
"Anarchists and the Left" (Against Separatism)
"Engaged Buddhism" (Peacework)
"America Is Not Free!" (Black Eye)
"Pentagon Double Talk" (Socialist Worker)
"Great White Fathers Meet" (Reality Sandwich)
Noam Chomsky interview (Bad Haircut)
--> plus poetry, cartoons, lots of zine ads