TMQ Zine Archive

Ben Is Dead #27 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:07:00 +0000

The "Retro Hell" series in Ben Is Dead wrapped up with issue #27, the third and final installment of this entertaining look into the (then) not-so-distant past. Issue #27 includes a (lengthy) Malcolm McLaren interview; "Judy Blume Slumber Party;" an overview of retro websites; an interview with visionary Terrence McKenna; an article on scandals like Deep Throat, Patty Heart, Roman Polanski, etc; as well as the usual book and show reviews.

The centerpiece of Ben Is Dead #27, however, is the second part of the "Retro Hell A-Z" feature, with entries on every pop culture personality and product from "Bob Mackie" to "zotz," and everything in between. I would have always liked to have seen Darby do a "Retro Hell" book with the A-Z encyclopedia, because the content was uniformly well-written, personable, sympathetic, and informative. Even when I didn't specifically know what they were talking about, I came away with a little more insight (and the feature was a hell of an entertaining way to kill time!).

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #27
• Spring 1998?
• B&W, 154-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Malcom McLaren interview
Terrence McKenna interview
"Judy Blume Slumber Party"
"Scandals Rock"
"Retro Hell A-Z," part two
--> also book & show reviews, and lots of photos

Ben Is Dead #26 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:01:00 +0000

It was once said that zine publishers are a bunch of bitchy little girls (male or female), and by the mid-90s this was particularly true. Pre-worldwide web, zine people had only the alt.zines Usenet newsgroup to swap stories and such, and flame wars were persistent. I remember a cat named Robert who published a couple of zines out of Texas feuding with a few other zine publishers and, of course, by this time writer Bob Black had pissed off nearly everybody of note in the zine world.

Other zinesters, perhaps jealous of Darby Romeo's apparent success with Ben Is Dead, had launched various whisper campaigns and instigated several feuds with the notoriously prickly Romeo, who responded in kind. There can be no denying Romeo's success with the zine, however, as evidenced by issue #26.

A whopping 156-page collection, this issue featured the second part of the zine's immensely popular "Retro Hell" encyclopedia of '70s and '80s pop culture icons. From 7-11 stores and 8-track tapes through lunchboxes, each item is provided a funny and insightful description (M to Z are included in part three, I guess), better than a decade before VH1 produced its "I Love The 70s," etc series.

Issue #26 of Ben Is Dead also includes a lengthy, great interview with music satirist Weird Al Yankovic, the hilarious "Things We Ate" by Darby and Jen Garber (paste, crayons, etc), "The Squatter Scene Hollywood California" and "The Best Of The Wallace & Laomo Show," as well as the usual round-up of show, zine, and music reviews.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #26
• Winter 1996
• B&W, 156-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Weird Al Yankovic interview
"Retro Hell," pop culture encyclopedia, part two
"A Night At The House Of Mondo" article
"The Best Of The Wallace & Laomo Show" article
--> also live show reviews, album, zine & comics reviews, and lots of photos

Ben Is Dead #25 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:20:00 +0000

This was publisher Darby Romeo's first "Retro Hell" issue of Ben Is Dead, issue #25 tackling such heady issues as teen idols, with lot of nostalgia for both the well-known (Brandon Cruz, Johnny Whittiker) and the lesser-known (Eric Olsen, Mike Lookinland) and everybody in between! There's an interview with teen heartthrob Jonathan Paley (of the Paley Brothers), an interview with Debbie Harry of Blondie, an article on filmmaker John Hughes, a Johnny Lydon (Johnny Rotten) interview, and a very funny interlude with singer Tom Jones.

Ben Is Dead #25 also includes Patty Powers sharing her memories of the NYC punk club scene of the 1970s, there's a very cool article on "retro paper games" that we used to play as kids (football, fortune teller, etc), Noel Toeltino's "I Had Pac-Man Fever," a neat article on "Kiddie Records" by Don Bolles of the Germs, another piece of Darby's interview with the Church of Satan's Anton LaVey, and more memory-provoking nostalgia for years past than you can shake a stick at...and, of course, book, show, and music reviews.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #25
• Spring 1995?
• B&W, 146-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Debbie Harry/Blondie interview
Jonathan Paley interview
Anton LaVey interview
Tom Jones interview
teen idols
Pac-Man fever
--> also album, zine & comics reviews, and lots of photos

Ben Is Dead #24 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:09:00 +0000

Another FAT issue of Ben Is Dead, issue #24 features a complex (and disturbing) portrait of mayhem by artist Justin Forbes. Just about every iconic touchstone of apocalyptic culture can be found hidden in this painting, from scum-rocker G.G. Allin poking a needle in his eye and what appears to be serial murderer John Wayne Gacy hugging a pinhead to cops beating a poor brother, "Uncle" Charlie Manson, Kurt Cobain with a shotgun in hand, Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker) and much much more...

Of course, the cover artwork is entirely appropriate as Ben Is Dead #24 is publisher Darby Romeo's "Death" issue, with articles on cult archivist John Aes Nihil, "Death, The Final Frontier," "Beyond Burial," an interview with Timothy Leary and Robert Anton Wilson, another with prankster Boyd Rice, and yet another with Satanist Anton LaVey, and much more murder, psychos, and mayhem! You'll also find interviews with the band Codeine, Stephen Malkmus of Pavement, and death-metal legends Carcass.

There's also a "zine within a zine" called "Brett Is Dead," printed on green paper and including sensationalist (fictional) tabloid fodder on such the "death of Brett Gurewitz," all of which masks an eight-page advertising section for Gurewitz's Epitaph Records label. You'll also find stuff on Lydia Lunch, Nicole Panter, and "Teen-Girl Stars Who Fell To Earth" as well as the prerequisite music, comix and zine reviews in an issue that has content to die for....

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #24
• Summer 1994
• B&W, 154-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Timothy Leary & Robert Anton Wilson interview
Anthon LaVey/Church of Satan interview
Boyd Rice interview
Codeine
Pavement
Nicole Panter interview
--> also album, zine & comics reviews, and lots of photos

Ben Is Dead #23 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:54:00 +0000

Found a bunch of copies of Ben Is Dead that I thought lost forever, stuck in the back of a box of computer magazines destined for the recycle bin. At its best, Ben Is Dead was always a cross between a perzine (personal zine) for publisher/editor Darby Romeo and her friends, and a pop culture zine without peer. Each issue that I ever saw was crammed full of fun and funky stuff, and issue #23 from Spring 1994 is no exception!

Ben Is Dead #23 is the "sassy" issue and includes an interview with Sassy magazine editor Christina Kelly, talking about the popular zine's teenaged female readership and behind the scenes stuff. There's an interview by Lisa Suckdog with Courtney Love about women's clothes that goes into some odd directions; articles on the Zappa brothers Ahmet and Dweezil; and a cool interview with punk goddess Pleasant Gehman, with whom I once spent a weekend of debauchery in Nashville.

Music-wise, there are articles on Shudder To Think, Foreskin 500, Possum Dixon, and That Dog. In keeping with the issue's theme, there's an article on "101 Saddiest Things (of the moment)"; a funny and informative article on the sassy first daughter, Chelsea Clinton (this was the '90s, after all); and a piece on "grunge prostitutes." There are album reviews (mostly of old records), a number of smaller articles on various subjects, and lots of photos. With it's theme slanted towards teenage girls and "sassy" stuff, not my fave issue, but well-done nonetheless.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #23
• Spring 1994
• B&W, 134-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Courtney Love interview
Z: Ahmet & Dweezil Zappa
Shudder To Think
Christina Kelly/Sassy magazine interview
Possum Dixon
Pleasant Gehman interview
--> also album, zine & comics reviews, and lots of photos

Flipside #91 (Pasadena CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:40:00 +0000

Boy, in the five years between Flipside #58 and this issue, Flipside #91, the zine changed a heck of a lot...they must have taken advantage of better distribution available to zines in the early '90s, as well as greater interest in punk-rock and alternative music and culture, 'cause they ramped up the page count (almost 4x as many) as well as a full-color cover (as opposed to cheaper spot color).

No matter, 'cause the Flipside gang used their increased cash flow and notoriety to deliver a spankin' issue, including an interview with the legendary Jello Biafra, interviews with noise terrorists KMFDM, the Bottom Feeders, Sugartooth, Killdozer, Mousetrap, and lots of other bands. There is also a very cool article on Area 51 and UFOs, and the usual scene reports, live show reviews, CD and zine reviews, a lengthy and often rowdy letters section, and much more.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #91
• August/September 1994
• B&W newsprint, 152-pages (plus full-color covers)
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Jello Biafra interview
KMFDM interview
Killdozer
Los Crudos
Mousetrap
Naked Aggression
Sugartooth
Area 51 aticle
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews

Punk Planet #18 (Chicago)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:28:00 +0000

Punk Planet scored a minor coup with their Jello Biafra cover interview for issue #18. After receiving an unjustified beating at the hands of a bunch of ignorant bitches at the legendary Bay Area Gilman Street club in 1994 (for, of all things, not being "punk enough" and for being a "sell out"), Biafra laid low for a while and recuperated. While Maximum Rock 'N' Roll was boycotting the punk rock icon and his independent Alternative Tentacles Records label, for many of the same stupid reasons that Jello took a beatdown, Punk Planet was one, if not the first, punkzine to interview Biafra once he broke his silence.

What Jello had to say about punk rock and the meaning of "punk" is just as germaine today as it was over a decade ago, in this 1997 issue of Punk Planet. Sadly, many of the same social issues still exist in 2009, and although Biafra has been raging against the machine for decades, he has often been unfairly maligned by the same thuggish mudheads that he's been defending, idiots that believe that being a punk means nothing more than a pair of Doc Martens boots and a black leather jacket and a NoFX CD. If you're going to talk the talk, kids, ya got to walk the walk, and Biafra continues to fight for what is right.

Punk Planet #18 also includes band interviews with Kiss It Goodbye, Cast Iron Hike, Lucid Nation, and Corm. There is an interview with Jody Bleyle of Candy Ass Records, who also played with Hazel and Team Dresch, and another with the founders of the women's zine Bust. This issue's "heavy lifting" article is on the issue of welfare reform, and another covers the "Mayan Punk" scene, opening our eyes to an entirely different viewpoint of punk. And don't forget the usual columns, cartoons, record and zine reviews, and lotsa B&W photos.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #18
• May/June 1997
• B&W w/spot color, 144-pages w/covers, newsprint
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Jello Biafra interview
Kiss It Goodbye interview
Cast Iron Hike interview
Jody Bleyle interview
Welfare Reform article
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews, etc

Punk Planet #17 (Chicago)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:22:00 +0000

Wow, what a difference a year makes in the life of a zine. Between issue #12 and Punk Planet #17, the zine finalized its eventual move to Chicago and increased its page count by over 30% to a whopping 136pp, with cool spot color on the cover. According to the editor's note, this was the first issue to receive widespread distribution through Mordam, putting it on the same footing as better-known punkzines that had been publishing longer.

The quality inside remains the same, tho', as the zine continues to grow and expand and offer up some of the best music coverage in the U.S. underground. PP #17 kicks off with the columnists that we've all come to know and love, from Leah Ryan and Darren Cahr to Bob Conrad and David Hake, among others, each seemingly provided a little more editorial space for their ramblings. This issue has a great interview with hardcore punk icon and zine publisher Dan O'Mahoney, as well as interviews with the bands Snapcase, Pain, the Rye Coalition (another fave of mine), and the Descendents.

Punk Planet had never been afraid to move beyond the superficial "who is more punk" to tackle more thought-provoking subjects, such as this issue's discussion of punk economy and the distribution of cultural goods. Heady stuff, indeed, and still timely today. The D.I.Y. Files column concerns itself with producing fanzines on the cheap (and scamming Kinko's, which the Reverend wasn't beyond doing back in the day thanks to the copy center's willing employees), and you'll also find a truckload of record and zine reviews.

With greater distribution and increased page count, the graphic designer(s) at Punk Planet went nuts with issue #17, throwing in more B&W photos and some cool pages consisting of pull-quotes from the accompanying article presented in stark large-font black text. At this point, PP was clearing leading the punkzine revolution in a positive direction.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #17
• March/April 1997
• B&W w/spot color, 136-pages w/covers, newsprint
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Rye Coalition interview
Descendents interview
Snapcase interview
"Punk Economy" article
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews, etc

Punk Planet #12 (Hoboken NJ / Chicago IL)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:17:00 +0000

Still straddling the two world of Hoboken, New Jersey and Chicago, Illinois (with a reviews editor in Leeds, Alabama of all places), Punk Planet #12 continues to grow into the punkzine that we knew and loved during the 1990s.

This issue, from 1996, offers plenty of the personal columns that helped attract readers to zines like Maximum Rock 'N' Roll, but I always thought that those in Punk Planet were a little more thoughtful (although, to be honest, some PP columnists came over from MR&R if I remember correctly). Editor Dan Sinker's stuff is here, as are columns by Will Dandy, Bob Conrad (who I always enjoyed), Leah Ryan, David Hake, and Larry Livermore, among others.

Interviews in issue #12 included Squirtgun (who I always thought were underrated) and
"cuddlecore" band Cub. There's a though-provoking article on the role of punkzines in revitalizing the small press, and another on the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (which helped usher in an era of corporate media monopolies and more right-wing talking head assholes). There is some fiction, an overview of the Sundance Film Festival that asks the question "is film punk?" (sure 'tis, just go ask Michael Dean), and another article on the media's role in covering up UFO information. Naturally, there's a crapload of record and zine reviews and lots of cool ads.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #12
• March/April 1996
• B&W, 104-pages w/covers, newsprint
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Squirtgun interview
Cub interview
Telecommunications Act article
The Media & UFOs article
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews, etc

Punk Planet #7 (Hoboken NJ / Chicago)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:16:00 +0000

I found a few more issues of the venerable Punk Planet in an untapped box, so I thought we'd take a trip back in time and check 'em out! Issue #7, from 1995, shows the zine in transition, moving its base of operations from Hoboken, New Jersey to the wilder, larger environs of Chicago. Although the final move would put Punk Planet square in the middle of the country, I always thought of it as an East Coast punkzine as opposed to the West Coast punk standard-bearers Maximum Rock 'n' Roll and Flipside. Also, because PP editor Dan Sinker seemed to be more interested in sharing good information and great music, there was less in-fighting and game-playing in Punk Planet compared to most punkzines (although I wouldn't be surprised to hear of behind-the-scenes shenanigans...).

Issue #7 shows another jump in page count, some 20% more than issue #5 that I wrote about earlier, although at this point it's still printed on cheap, crappy newsprint. Still, 96-pages of punk rock fun is nothing to sneeze at, and this issue features the usual columns from Sinker, Kim Bae, Julia Cole, and Larry Livermore, among others, as well as a column from my old pal and former Jersey Beat editor Jim Testa. The scene report this time around is from Baltimore, and interviews include Man Or Astro Man and Kerosene 454.

There's an interesting interview with graphic artist Rudy Vanderlans, publisher of San Francisco's Emigre magazine that discusses graphic design, and well-written pieces on the National Endowment for the Arts (and why we need it) and TV piracy. The zine's always-informative "The D.I.Y. Files" section is on health care, a timeless topic, and of course there are a slew of record and zine reviews and some fiction writing. The ads for punk 45s and LPs on long-forgotten labels are a hell of a lot of fun to thumb through, bringing back a lot of memories...wish I still had some of that vinyl, it would be worth a fortune on eBay....

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #7
• May/June 1995
• B&W, 96-pages w/covers, newsprint
• Style: punkzine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Man Or Astro Man interview
Kerosene 454 interview
Rudy Vanderlans interview
National Endowment for the Arts article
Television Piracy article
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews, etc

Flipside #58 (Whittier CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:23:00 +0000

Although punkzines came and went with alarming regularity during the 1980s, two that I remember stood above the fray and realized national distribution – the legendary Maximum Rock & Roll, and the awesome, tho' often overlooked Flipside.

I remember that I used to have a bunch of copies of Flipside, but I think that I gave them all away to a guy that wanted to start a free zine library in the back of his indie record shop. I toted boxes of zines into Nashville to the guy's shop, and a couple of months later he closed up shop and sold what he could to The Great Escape, one of the local used music & comic book stores. Digging through their crates, I bought a few of the zines that had stuff in them that I had written...buying back the paper I had given away, as it were....

Anyway, I found this issue #58 of Flipside in a box somewhere, and it has some good stuff inside the pages. There's a lengthy vintage interview with Jimmy Pursey of Sham 69, another with Mike Ness of Social Distortion, and a third with the members of Sonic Youth. There are articles on Gwar, Government Issue, D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), and Pussy Galore, among other bands. Like most punkzines of the era, you'll find a slew of record and zine reviews, live show reviews, and a large classifieds section, all printed on cheap-o newsprint but evincing an irrepressible punk rock spirit.

Oh yeah, this issue also includes one of John Crawford's hilarious and insightful "Baboon Dooley" cartoons. Ya just gotta love it....

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #58
• Winter 1989
• B&W, 40-pages (plus covers w/spot color)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Jimmy Pursey/Sham 69 interview
Mike Ness/Social Distortion interview
Sonic Youth interview
Gwar article
Government Issue article
D.R.I. article
--> also reader mail, music & zine reviews

Motorbooty #3 (Ann Arbor MI)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 21:09:00 +0000

Motorbooty #3, published by the anarchic offspring of Detroit's radical '60s, was a music and rock 'n' roll culture zine with a satirical bite and a love of the offbeat and fringe. As I remember, they always had a lot of great artwork in the pages, as well as editorial content that rested uneasily outside of what most of the alt-rock music zines were publishing at the time.

This issue includes a lengthy interview with irrepressible fringe artist Robert Williams, complimented by plenty of Williams' scatological artwork. Another interview features cult Minneapolis noise-punks Halo of Flies, and yet a third is with Markie Ramone of, well, The Ramones. There are also articles on Mudhoney, one of Seattle's most overlooked bands of the grunge era; industrial Goth terrorists Spahn Ranch; and incendiary author Kathy Acker. Throw in lots of cartoons, and some very cool psyche-styled artwork in the Rick Griffin vein, and you have a small, but entertaining issue of Motorbooty.

(Click on the cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #3
• Fall 1998
• B&W, 40-pages (plus color covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Robert Williams interview
Halo of Flies interview
Mudhoney article
Kathy Acker article
The Ramones interview

Ben Is Dead #22 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:49:00 +0000

I probably have other issues of Ben Is Dead boxed up somewhere, but here I'm jumping from #19 to #22, Summer 1993. What a difference a year makes – over the course of three issues, Ben Is Dead grew from an impressive 80-pages to a whopping 148-pages, including the color covers.

Sure, there's a lot more advertising, and on the surface it may seem that the zine is doing quite well, financially, but a lot of the indie label ads might have been trades, low-cost (or free, as was the style at the time). Regardless, this is one of the thicker zines in the TMQ collection and there's a lot of content between these covers.

Maybe they did it from the beginning, but by the time of #22, Ben Is Dead had begun publishing around a theme for each issue, with articles exploring the various aspects of said theme. This issue's theme was "Modern Transmissions & Sensory Overload," which sounds like something you might have found in '90s-era cyberzines like Mondo 2000. Thus, there's a lot of mind-blowing, futuristic content in #22, articles like "Communicable Diseases: Infecting the Established Media," an interview with writer Douglas Rushkoff; "Alternative Communication & Social Oppression;" "General Magic" Corporate Polygamy Spawning Illusory Technology Designed to Change Our Lives;"

There's lot of other stuff in #22 as well, such as Reverend Al's hilarious "T-Shirt Lexicology of the Extreme Right," an interview with my old buddy and Bad Newz zine publisher Bob Z about his postering problems, an interview with poster artist Frank Kozik, an interview with Factsheet Five's Seth Friedman, a Skatenigs band interview, and an insightful piece on music conventions like CMJ or South by Southwest, among much more.

Probably one of the biggest coups for Ben Is Dead was this issue's cool interview with beat writer William S. Burroughs, while coverage of the Offworld BBS bust and articles on computer bulletin boards were right in line with the times. A fascinating issue, full of intelligent content.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #22
• Summer 1993
• B&W, 148-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
William S. Burroughs interview
Douglas Rushkoff interview
Bob Z interview
Frank Kozik interview
R. Seth Friedman/Factsheet 5 interview
Skatenigs interview
Fastbacks interview
Ian Reed interview
--> also live show reviews, album, zine & comics reviews, and lots of photos

Ben Is Dead #19 (Hollywood CA)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 21:32:00 +0000

Back during the mid-90s, Ben Is Dead was among a handful of zines that rose out of the late-80s punk scene to creep into the mainstream consciousness. Launched in 1988, over its ten-year run, as the zine brought in more advertising and contributors, it grew in size and importance on the zine scene.

Back in 1992, tho', Ben Is Dead was LA-centric punk and alt-rock zine with intelligent coverage of community and political issues. Published by the infamous Deborah "Darby" Romeo, the magazine was named after a dream Darby had about her then-husband Ben.

This issue includes a lot of comment on the recent L.A. riots, interviews with edgy bands like Cop Shoot Cop and Torture Chorus, and Darby's humorous and sometimes uncomfortable interview with her dad. The writing is intelligent, to the point of borderlining on intellectual, an unusual direction for what began as a garden-variety punkzine.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #19
• June/July 1992
• B&W, 80-pages w/color covers, newsprint
• Style: pop culture zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Corey Dubin interview
Cop Shoot Cop interview
Bigdamncrazyweight interview
Torture Chorus interview
"Defend The Los Angeles Rebellion" article
"The KROQ Conspiracy" article
"UFOs Over Los Angeles" article
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #57 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:45:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:39:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 21:10:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:54:00 +0000

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)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 20:41:00 +0000

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

Jersey Beat #46 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 20:50:00 +0000

Issue #46 of Jersey Beat was also the zine's tenth anniversary issue, an impressive accomplishment for any small press publication. Sure, other music zines, like Jack Rabid's The Big Takeover, have shown an amazing longevity, but you can count the number of zines that make the big 1-0 on the fingers of both hands. Editor/publisher Jim Testa states that he tried to make the issue a special occasion, attempting to set up interviews with the Beastie Boys or the Smithereens, to no avail. Then, as now, there are barriers between a publication or music journalist and the artist, the gates often manned by (as Testa calls 'em) "deadheaded dead wood corporate flunkies."

Call them managers, publicists, record labels or fucking morons (the Reverend's preferred adjective), but the efforts of the gatekeepers to shield their meal tickets often do more harm than good. In the 35 years that the Reverend has been doing this rockcrit thing, I've found only a handful of musicians that were less than willing to talk about their art. During that same time, the number of truly helpful and efficient label publicists, PR people or band managers that would help out an independent writer can also be counted on those two hands. These days, the hotter a band or artist, the more likely that you'll be asked to submit your questions in advance, or sign some sort of restrictive agreement... neither of which should be acceptable to any publication or writer with any scruples.

The Reverend's rant aside, Testa nevertheless put together a fine effort for Jersey Beat #46, a sort of double-sided issue that featured two different front covers and a reversible lay-out that had material that looked backwards at the past as well as towards the future. Interviews include Sweet Lizard Illtet, L7, Noise Culture, fireHOSE, and False Prophets. There is a great article from Jim DeRogatis on "Remembering Lester Bangs" with several insightful quotes from the scribe. There is a tour diary from NJ band Trusty and articles on the new bands Sex Pods and the Misconceptions.

Of course, this wouldn't be an issue of Jersey Beat without columns and reviews, and this 10th anniversary party has plenty of both. A new rap column, "Notes From The Hip Hop Nation" by Mattatude does a fine job in discussing artists like Boogie Down Productions and Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy as well as rap labels and events. Mick Hale's "Danse Assembly" column offers Die Warzau, Peter Murphy, Insekt and Skinny Puppy and Testa's "Diary Of A Rock Critic" column documents the events at South By Southwest 1992. The regular record review section includes coverage of LPs from the Afghan Whigs, Bad Religion, Dag Nasty, Jazz Butcher, Miracle Legion, Sebadoah and Superchunk, among many others. There are seven pages of 7-inch single reviews (a zine rarity, even in '92, Testa and JB being one of the few publications to cover singles to any extent) and a zine review section, where they call the Reverend's Radical Pizza zine "a little heaver (idea-wise) than your usual zine."

With ten years under their belts, Jim Testa and Jersey Beat were just getting started. Stay tuned for more JB reviews in the future (as I dig copies out of the boxes they're hidden in).

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #46
• Summer 1992
• B&W, 64-pages, newsprint (plus slick covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Sweet Lizard Illtet interview
L7 interview
Noise Culture interview
fireHOSE interview
False Prophets interview
"Remembering Lester Bangs" by Jim DeRogatis
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #44 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:54:00 +0000

Best as I can tell, Jersey Beat #44 was the first issue in which the Reverend's words appeared. It was only a handful of album reviews – Mary's Danish, Mecca Normal and Fatima Mansions – but it was the start of a relationship with Jim Testa's fine music zine that would run for 15 years. Yeah, I'd disappear for an issue or three as other responsibilities, work or relationships would interfere, but a note or email to editor/publisher Testa would put the Reverend back on the masthead. I always enjoyed writing for JB because of the interesting mix of indie CDs that Jim would send me to review, which widened my musical knowledge and turned me on to some fun bands.

Issue #44 includes more of the same that readers came to expect and enjoy with Jersey Beat, including interviews with former Black Flag frontman Henry Rollins, the Fiendz and Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia. Testa's love of the 7-inch single is well-known, Jim once saying something along the lines of "every band has at least three good songs," making the little vinyl platter with the big hole the perfect format for young bands. Back in the '90s the 45rpm 7-inch single was still going strong, and Testa even published a single issue of a review zine called Glut that was dedicated exclusively to the 45rpm single. In this issue of JB, Testa put together an excellent article, "Still Going Steady: Singles In The 90's" (the title a clever play on words taken from a Buzzcocks' song). The article was derived from a roundtable discussion about the beloved 7-incher by a group of indie label folks, musicians and retailers and it's as quaint in retrospect as it was interesting at the time (and boy, do some of us miss the 45rpm 7-inch single!).

Jersey Beat #44 also includes the usual columns and review sections; Michael Hale's "Danse Assembly" column tackles industrial music from Consolidated, Life In Sodom and Machines Of Loving Grace. Craig Donner's "Hard Rock" column covers LPs from Warrior Soul, Enuff Z' Nuff, Primus, Anthrax and Cycle Sluts From Hell. There are six pages of 7-inch single reviews, zine reviews, Rodney Leighton's "Cassette Culture" column of demo and tape reviews, and Testa's "Diary Of A Rock Critic" column of live show reviews. The local bands section features reviews of music from NJ/NY/PA bands like Bouncing Souls, Honeymoon Killers, Throttle and the Black Rock Coalition compilation CD and the regular album reviews section includes the Blake Babies, Crime & the City Solution, Fishbone, the Godfathers, the Neighborhoods and Mr. Bungle. All in all, another solid issue of Jersey Beat from Jim Testa and friends.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #44
• Fall/Winter 1991
• B&W, 64-pages, newsprint (plus slick covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Henry Rollins/Rollings Band interview
Psychick Warriors Ov Gaia interview
The Fiendz interview
Motel Shootout interview
"Still Going Steady: Singles In The 90's"
"Letter From Minneapolis" by Jim DeRogatis
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #43 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 18:06:00 +0000

Nine years in, Jim Testa's wonderful Jersey Beat music zine began to take shape, developing the basic look and format that the zine would follow for the next fourteen years. Testa points out in his opening editorial that when JB first began in '82, he couldn't get a major label to return his phone calls, much less send records for review, and the term "alternative rock" didn't yet exist. In '91, though, former indie bands like Nirvana, Material Issue, the Feelies, Redd Kross and the Goo Goo Dolls were all signed to major labels and with alt-rock beginning to explode, Testa and JB were inundated with promo discs and constantly pestered with label phone calls.

Unfortunately, those same major labels that were so keen on getting free publicity for their alt-baby bands in music zines were reticent to cough up the cash for advertising to promote the bands. The early-to-mid-90s zine boom was mostly fueled by indie label advertising, for which they may or may not have ever gotten paid. Cash flow was a problem for a lot of music zines, and I'm sure that Jersey Beat was no exception. Testa would have liked to expand his page-count and offer more musical coverage, but the money just wasn't there.

Nevertheless, Jersey Beat #43 offers up its usual spate of fine music journalism, starting with interviews with folks like the Butthole Surfers, the Junk Monkeys and the Deviators, as well as regional bands like Bewitched (Hoboken NJ), Jack Rabid's Springhouse (NYC) and ...But Ugly (Princeton NJ). One thing that JB had moved towards by issue #43 was individual columns by fans of a certain style...a smart move that allowed Testa to increase the range of his coverage and thus potential readership. Mick Hale's "Danse Assembly" column covers industrial and dance music, a hot genre in the early-90s, covering bands like Consolidated, Front 242, the KLF and Pigface. Craig Donner's "Hard Rock" column reviews albums (and demos) from headbangers like RDP, Iced Earth and Morgoth while Testa's "Diary Of A Rock Critter" column offers live show reviews.

There are a lot of other type reviews, also, including LP reviews of albums from the Butthole Surfers, Alex Chilton, Flat Duo Jets, Leaving Trains, Napalm Death, the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr. A local band section includes reviews of albums, EPs and 7-inch singles from Alice Donut, Crawlpappy, Hypnolovewheel and the Fiendz. There is also a demo reviews section, and a section dedicated exclusively to 7-inch singles from the likes of Counterpunch, Jello Biafra, Nation of Ulysses and Pegboy, among others. Of course, there is a zine reviews section, and a scene report from Israel. For my money (and at $2.00 for an issue, cheap), Jersey Beat offered up some of the best music coverage in both diversity and quality in the zine world at the time.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #43
• Summer 1991
• B&W, 66-pages, newsprint (plus slick covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Paul Leary/Butthole Surfers interview
Junk Monkeys interview
Bewitched interview
Deviators interview
Springhouse interview
"Israel Scene Report"
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, review columns and lots of photos

Jersey Beat #41 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:45:00 +0000

A few more years pass by and I dig up another issue of Jersey Beat, either from Tower Records or maybe even by sending editor/publisher Jim Testa a couple of bucks in the mail. Either way, by this time Jim had moved over to a more cost-efficient newsprint format (instead of photocopied) that allowed him to expand the zine's coverage without going broke.

As a result, issue #41 has a bunch of cool stuff, including an interview with Jersey's own Yo La Tengo, an interview with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and interviews with indie bands like Soulside, Crawlpappy and Chikara. This issue also includes "The Lost 1990 Tour Diary," an insightful accounting of the summer '90 regional tour by Erie PA rockers the Lost. Of course, there are a bunch of record reviews here, of both local NJ/NY bands and artists like Richard Barone (of the Bongos), Crawlpappy and Adrenalin O.D. as well as a diverse collection of national bands like Gwar, Datura Seeds, Jane's Addiction, Love/Hate and Pavement.

There are two full pages of 7"/45rpm singles reviews, another couple pages of demo reviews, and an interesting plea for readers stories about crappy bookings at CBGBs. I've heard this complaint about the legendary club before, that during the late-80s/early-90s owner Hilly Kristal would load bills with as many bands as possible to try and maximize income for the night. Testa uses a show featuring Ween, Alice Donut and False Prophets as an example – two new local bands were added to the existing advertised bill of six bands, so Ween was forced to perform early (in front of few people) and at 2:15 AM, neither Alice Donut or False Prophets had hit the stage yet.

Testa argues that the strategy doesn't work, that the bands used to "pad" the line-up are often awful and don't draw and because people know that the headliners won't go on until way late, they just don't go to the show in the first place. I don't know how Testa's fight with CGGBs went, but unfortunately clubs still use this tactic of overbooking shows, resulting in fewer patrons and lost opportunities.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #41
• Fall/Winter 1990?
• B&W, 64-pages, newsprint (including covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Yo La Tengo interview
Trent Reznor/Nine Inch Nails interview
Crawlpappy interview
Chikara interview
Soulside interview
"The Lost 1990 Tour Diary"
"Baboon Dooley" cartoons by John Crawford
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, lots of photos

Jersey Beat #34 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 18:06:00 +0000

I lost track of Jim Testa's Jersey Beat music zine for a couple of years, and from the sticker on the cover of issue #34 that I found in the archives, I probably picked up this copy at the long-gone Tower Records in Nashville. While I wasn't paying attention, Jersey Beat had grown both in size and stature during my absence, and issue #34 is chock full of some meaty musical coverage that extends far beyond the state of New Jersey in interest to the average zine reader.

First up is an early interview with the Goo Goo Dolls, one of the first articles written about the band outside of their Buffalo hometown (the Reverend's article in Music Retailing around the same time being another). With a lone album under their collective belts, the Goo Goo Dolls had yet to make anything considered a splash in the music world at this early date, putting JB well ahead of the curve. There's an interesting conversation with underground icon Eugene Chadbourne, interviews with the Stand, Stax, Carbonic Smog, Pagan Babies and metal band Black Virgin. Zine reviews were fleshed out a bit with this issue, and there are a few live show reviews, including Testa's "Confidential Diary Of A Rock Critter" column, and Ben Weasel's "Skate Report" column.

As was usual with every issue of Jersey Beat, there are a bunch of album reviews included in this issue, such as feature reviews of discs from Mission Of Burma, the Splatcats and Tiny Lights along with shorter reviews of the Meat Puppets, Phantom Tollbooth, Alice Donut, Throwing Muses, Prong, Sonic Youth and Adrenalin O.D. As you can tell, Jersey Beat didn't restrict itself to covering just local bands (although the zine did feature NJ/NY/PA bands whenever possible) and offered readers a diverse range of musical coverage.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #34
• Spring 1988
• B&W, 36-pages (including covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
Goo Goo Dolls interview
Eugene Chadbourne interview
Pagan Babies interview
Stax interview
Carbonic Smog interview
The Stand interview
Black Virgin interview
"Baboon Dooley" cartoons by John Crawford
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews, lots of photos

Jersey Beat #26 (Weehawken NJ)

noreply@blogger.com (Rev. Keith A. Gordon) — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 17:17:00 +0000

Although publisher Jim Testa hasn't put out an issue of Jersey Beat in some time, his impressive little music rag can boast of 77 issues published during nearly 25 years. Considering that Testa's zine was more of a labor of love than a business with an actual staff (i.e. Maximum Rock 'N' Roll or Punk Planet), that's no mean feat. An integral part of the North Jersey music scene, a talented writer and critic, and an engaging, entertaining songwriter, Testa's one-man-show often times showed up publications with bigger budgets. Through the years, Testa's eye for talent resulted in folks like Jim DeRogatis, Ben Weasel and Howard Wuelfing writing some great material for Jersey Beat. In the interest of disclosure, the Reverend has also written for Jersey Beat, contributing record and DVD reviews to the zine for almost 15 years.

Issue #26 seems to be the first that I have in my archives, a relatively early issue from 1986 that is smaller and more scattered than later issues. This issue includes coverage of the second annual "Noise Fest," a showcase for NJ metal bands, as well as articles on the band Fahrenheit 451 and Bob Cianci, record collector and producer of the Attack Of The Jersey Teens collection of '60s garage bands. There is a very cool "metal underground" column by "Metal" Mike Farris covering bands like Deathrash, Matriarch and Bloodlust as well as a bunch of record reviews, including discs from Jersey's own Yo La Tengo, Rage To Live, the Feelies, and Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. There are a few 7-inch reviews and a handful of John Crawford's hilarious "Baboon Dooley, Rock Critic" cartoon strips. Not quite the JB that we would later come to love and anticipate, but Testa and his crew were well on the way.

(Click on cover thumbnail to see larger picture)

VITAL STATISTICS:
• Issue #26
• May/June 1986
• B&W, 20-pages (including covers)
• Style: music zine

ARTICLES/INTERVIEWS
"Noise Fest" heavy metal festival
Fahrenheit 451
Bob Cianci (Attack Of The Jersey Teens LP producer)
"Baboon Dooley" cartoons by John Crawford
--> also live show reviews, album & zine reviews