Zine Guide
(#1 $4 PO Box 5467 Evanston, IL 60204)
by Scott Hefflon
Don’t let that pesky #1 fool ya, these guys know their stuff. Brought to you from the fine folks at Tail Spins (currently 30 issues under their belt), the Zine Guide is a resource tool ya really oughtta have. With roughly the same intention (at least to the naked eye) as Factsheet 5 (the encyclopedic guide to the zine revolution), there’s no reason why we can’t have two (or more) guides, much as there are multiple encyclopedia sets, dictionaries, thesauruses, etc.. It’s good to have options, not to mention a variety of opinions. And that’s one of the best aspects of the Zine Guide, there ain’t a word (much less a long-winded, self-indulgent essay) about why there is a Zine Guide, there just is one. How refreshing. Furthermore, the Zine Guide doesn’t offer its own opinion as law, they simply list issue numbers, featured content, perhaps scan the cover, and reprint quotes supplied from a varied cross-section of “the business.” And they even tally up the favorite ‘zines by record labels, other ‘zines, females, males, and overall. On top of that, they went to the trouble of listing over 2,300 bands, and almost as many persons (writers, directors, activists, etc.) and companies (labels, distros, stores) and reference many of the magazines they’ve been featured in. And again, there are the top o’ the heap summaries.
Out of curiosity, I faxed Editor Brent Ritzel a few questions, and he was kind enough to reply.
What was the inspiration behind the Zine Guide?
I’ve always been a huge fan of ‘zines (much more so than music), and I found myself increasingly fascinated by the variety and quality of ‘zines. I thought it would be a shame if these ‘zines were not more precisely documented for posterity.
What should ‘zines be doing more of, less of?
More copy editing (or at least read the thing once after writing it). Less terrible, nonsensical, poorly-drawn comics.
Where is there a glut, where are there holes in coverage?
I don’t think there could ever be enough ‘zines. I do think specifically we could use more intellectually-based scientific and philosophy ‘zines. There’s not enough D.I.Y. work being done in those fields. So much energy seems to be invested in interpersonal bickering instead of honest to goodness rational inquiry.
What did you learn about ‘zines that you didn’t already know?
a) There is a lot of atrocious, unexamined writing going on.
b) There are some absolutely brilliant pieces being written that risk being lost but to the couple dozen people who happen upon them.
c) In general, if your street address is in the United States, you should bend over and kiss the ground belonging to your nation that actually allows you to publish pretty much whatever the fuck you want.
