mercoledì 25 settembre 2013

Substitution - Fanzine reviews

Substitution was an early 90s american fanzine ultra-cool, focused on alternative / industrial scene from LA (mostly). They scanned all the issues and posted here, on their facebook page. 
I re-type the fanzines reviews appeared on issue #2, #3 and #4, because mostly of these zines names doesn't appeared on the web yet. It's a good start-point to seek out other odditys and cool-publications of early 90s. Enjoy.

Technology Works # 1 to #5, 8-16 pages, copied, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2
Paul always features good bands, scene news and reviews. I really enjoy his electronic graphics, they go well with the electronic music that he covers. Bands that have been interviewed/featured: Meat Beat, Nitzer Ebb, Revco, NIN, Consolidated, MC 900 foot, APolitiq, Bio-hazard and more.
($1 each from Paul Moore, P.O. Box 477, Placentia, CA 92670)

OPEN 'Zine 4, 6 pages plus a record, offset, 7x7
Really great mix of bands - Geko, Edgewise, 23 More minutes and Admiral. I love 7'' records. Anyways, the 'zine is enjoyable too, it has comics, art, writings an more. Buy one before they sell out. Also comes with stickers.
($3 ppd. from Greg, P.O. Box 482, Paoli, PA 19301)

Life is a Joke #5 & #6, 20 pages, offset,  8 1/2 x 5 1/2
This is an art/lit/comic 'zine that gives you a light taste of the darker sides of life. He's really funny, and I really like the writings inside. #5 features ''survival information'' and #6 is ''Art, Religion and Hate''.
($1 and 2 stamps from Joe Franke, 2288 Hawk, Simi Valley, CA 93065)

Godsend #14 & #15, 24 pages, copied, 8 1/2 x 5 1/2
Issue 14 is the ''Greater Than One art issue'' featuring the band G.T.O. (a short interview) & some trippy art. Number 15 has Legendary Pink Dots, Severed Heads, F.L. Assembly, Psyche, Batz w/out Flesh and some cool short stories. Also are mass record reviews. The interviews are all done by mail, so they are kind of short, but don't let that throw you, Godsend is a good read.
($1.50 ppd. c/o Todd, 1401 Fuquay Road, Evansville, IN 47715)

For Your Skull #21 & #22, 16 pages, offset,
This is Carrie from Geko's 'zine, and it's really cool (just like her band). Full of art, comics, drawings, etc. It also has ''artist interviews'', such as Joe Franke in twenty one, Doug Chapel and more. She's one hell of an artist...
(25c and a stamp from Carrie, P.O. Box 481051, L.A., CA 90048)


The Altered Mind #11 $2.00
Kind of Gothic oriented, locally focused zine with a (call me crazy but..) friendly feel to it. Interview with Geko, feature story on Klaus Kinski along with other articles, poetry, music, book and zine reviews, plus a wee bit of art. I must commend them on the lovely dark teal ink cover -- nice! I get the feeling they really care about the local music scene, so I really like this publication.
P.O. Box 1038 Claremont, CA 91711-1038

Angry Thoreauan #2 $0. in So Cal
Thrash Metal/Punk zine with heavy political and social commentary in writings & art. Main reviews, also interviews, letters etc..Formerly known as ''Happy Thrasher''. A bit rough.
P.O. Box 2246 Anahiem, CA 92814

Attitued Problem #10 $0
This Arizona zine has been kind enough to put us us their mailing list. Reminds me a bit of a High School newspapaper, but this is filled with the stuff we would have preferred. It's a skate/punk/art thing with social/political commenary, poetry and writings as well as several articles taken from other sources which the editor felt pertinent to his readers. All in all, good, fun reading.
P.O. Box 703, Clarkdale, AZ 86324

Ben Is Dead #19 June/July 1992 $ 0
Ben just keeps getting bigger and better. They are also gradually going more literary and less music oriented. Each issue is based around one topic and is crammed with material written by numerous contributors with varied styles and viewpoints on the subject. Humor is a main point of mention, as well as gossip (or pseudo gossip), perhaps a bit of shock, too. Gives anyone from out of town / state a real good fell for the L.A. culture. Since the distribution is 16,00 or so, most of my readers have obviously seen this around and already know it's got to be the best freebie zine in print.
P.O. Box 3166 Los Angeles CA 90028

Camellia Year 3 Fall/Winted $ .52 SASE
As the cover states, ''A Literary Quarterly''. I noticed they accept artwork (well, comics) as well as poetry and short prose, but none was contained within this issue. The entire layout used one font style and size, one piece per page; leaving abit to be desired visually, however the material itself is well written enough that I think the minimalness was most likely intended in constrast.
P.O. Box 4092 Ithaca N.Y. 14852

Emissions #1 $ 4.00
Excellent first effort at melding the political and art journal while keeping the integrity of each seperate element. They could not have done a better job. The art is so intriguing and eye-catching that it's almost difficult to get around to reading, but the writing really is equally so. Articles, poetry, prose, comics, commentary, ''propaganda'',and pages of artwork, all printed on high quality paper with quality ink.
P.O. Box 12373 Berkely, CA 94704

The Fifth Path #3 $3.50
Professionally done zine; computer layouts, thick paper, black, black ink -- well designed and obviously thought out. Very dark content, heavy emphasis on philosophy and belief systems, particualarly the Boy Rice / Death In June circles (at lease this issue). Contents include interviews, live and recorded music reviews, literary reviews, news and articles (interesting one on Carl Orff this time) as well as some very disturbing ads.
P.O. Box 1632 Carmichael, CA 95609

For Your Skull #24 $ 0.20 + a stamp
This is the infamous zine of Carrie McNinch. Each issue is filled with contirubtions of graphic / comic artists from all over -- as well as their opinions on different topics which Carrie questions on each ish. It also contains live and recorded music reviews and a healty portion of her own art. Rad, dude!
P.O. Box 481051 Los Angeles, CA 90048


Godsend V. 18 $1.25
A ''periodical of progressive / electronic / industrial music''. Several interviews, with some pretty big bands. Seem to be done through the mail and heavily into discographys. Also recorded and live music reviews, video reviews, a news & contacts list and a few features. I must admit, I missed the fiction pices included in past issues! Great homemade feel to this zine.
1401 Fuguay Rd. Evansville, IN 47715

Jersey Beat #45 $2.00
This was the Winter issue, so once again, a bit dated, sorry. Jim's been doing this zine forever but I'm not sure how many folks out this way know of it. The focues is primarily punk and all of its many genres, but i noticed they're also including features on noise and electronic industrial music. Interviews, features, loads of reviews (live and recorded music & zines), photos and a number of interesting little graphics and comics put togheter in a sort of casual style.
418 Gragory Ave. Weehawken, NJ 07087

Pussy Grazer 
Truly bizarre twisted sexual orientation zine. Both gay and lesbian themes, plus cross dressing, S&M and a few stabs at religion. Fairly humorous, always shocking. Pretty crummy layouts, but the printing is good and the paper thick. Sorry, they don't say the price or even the issue#!
P.O. Bpx 20553 Tompkins Square Station, New York, NY 10009

The Skeleton Quarterly #11 $2.00
Art, comics, poetry, prose, commentary and a page of fanzine reviews. Not much reading, but enjoyable none the less.
P.O. Box 411021 San Francisco, CA 94141

Technology Works $1.50
''Techno industrial cyberpunk'' as the zine editor states. Mainly larger bands, but some locals as well. Not many photos, but lots of strange scanned illustrations throughout. Included interviews, discographies, reviews, news and a few other interesting features. Well informed.
P.O. Box 477 Placentia, CA 92670-0477

The Unmentionable #13 $2.00
A womyn oriented fanzine --stuffed with art and literature of all sorts, as well as quite a few fanzine reviews. This is great. I highly reccomend it!
P.O. Box 7219 Santa Cruz, CA 95061

Alright! Issued # 2
Somehow I missed the first issue of this little fanzine. Actually, I don't believe there was a fist issue. I can just picture this editor calling his first issue, ''#2''. I don't have any evidence whatsoever to back this up, of course. Anyway, this zine was definitely brought on by the fact that Royal Trux were in town. They are featured with a cool, informative interview, along with reviews of several recordings, a fanzine, a movie premiere, 2 books, and 2 live shows, one being - of course - Jon Spenser (along with a full page photo from the Pussy Galore days). I enjo rich's casual style of writing, which belies his ultra-cool image. This fanzine is short but sweet. -Anji
P.O. Box 45154, Los Angeles, CA 90045-0154

The Altered Mind Issue 12 ($2.00)
I am always impressed by how good the AM looks! They pay a lot more attention to their layouts and visuals than most' zines. The imagery is consistently backed up by polite, thoughtful text that almost makes me think that one of the editors is an English major. AM deals with a vast range of alternative music styles. Most of the bands within are fairly unknown, but many deserve more notice. As usual, there are articles, poetry, literature, and a large review section. This issue's interviews are with Mecca Normal, Love Spirals Downwards, musician Simon Wickham-Smith, Dramshop, and Carne A. - Justin
P.O. Box 1038 Claremont, CA 91711

Attitued Problem Issues 11, 12 ($2.50 outside of Arizona)
First thing, cool cover art. This zine has got a little bit of everything. And this 12th issue is huge! Let's see; there's band interviews, personal and group interviews, social/political features and opinions, re-run articles with good information, comics, graphics, photos, poetry, stories, letters from readers, advice, amusements, and lots of strange ads. Interesting to hardcore skaters or non-skaters alike, hell, interesting to non-hardcore people who don't skate or nothin cool like that. -Anji
Bandhu Scott Dunham P.O. Box 703 Clarkdale, AZ 86324

Bathory Palace Winther/Spring 1993
From the heart of the Midwest comes the premiere issue of this handmade fanzine. I was impressed to find that unlike many gothic 'zines, Bathory Palace contains intelligently and honestly written articles without the usual pretentiousness or photos of clubgoers; in fact, it's veryhuman. The graphics are all hand-drawn of cut-and-paste, and go along with the dark themes of the writing. In addition to music, BP deals with literature, art, and movies. This issue has articles on Ann Radcliffe, Timothy Renner and Anne Rice as well as poetry, ads and reviews. It's fairly short, but is quite reasonably priced. -Justin
Lara Hayes 1610 SW 3rd Topeka, KS 66606

Book of Days Unmbentionable #14 ($?)
This darn thing won't stay folded in half! It's a quarter page art project with a bizarre theme; a monthly calendaer for any year with little quotes, dates, excerpts of stories, poetry, graphics, photos, comics, signatures and you name it - for each day. Although it is surely original and entertaining, I had trouble reading it all. At the end is a wee bit of the usual Unmentionable items. I think this would make good toilet reading. -Anji
Kelina Box 7219 Santa Cruz, Ca 95061


Butterfinger Issue 1
Mikki's first solo attempt is not only entertaining, it is also FREE (for all of us cheapskates)! Well come on, it's hard enough to make our generation read, let alone pay for the reading material. Lots of familiar names  pitched in material, on topics such as the underlying sociopolitical theme of Beverly Hills 90201, shortwave radio usage, the many variations of rice cake treats, as well as intriguing interviews with people from various walks of life, disturbing fiction, and reviews. The only thing I found lacking was grabbing graphics. The next issue could definitely do with a frew more to spice up the great writing. -Anji
One BC PO Box 48914 Los Angeles, CA 90048

Concept: Personality Issue 3.0 and 3.5 ($1.25)
Half page sized xerox zine which is rather short despite the fact that he does one issue per year. How can you describe this...artistic, controversial, stream-of-consciousness, anti-propogandaist STUFF. It's got little and big non-prose literature, strange doodles, graphics, lists, opinions, reviews - music and non-music related, served up with a dose of attitude. My favorite piece is Burglar in issue #3.0. #3.5 includes an interesting interview with Tall Bald Grandfathers. Christ is a real character and this zine gives you a good feel for what he's about. Something different. -Anji
Chirs Reider PO Box 1204 Lyons, CO 80540

Dewdrops Issue 6 ($1.35), Issue 7 ($2.00)
What started out covering only 4AD bands has expanded to be an ''alternative music / independent label fanzine'', now covering other dark and dreamy labels like Projekt and C'est La Mort. This si still a must for fans of 4AD bands, though, as Dewdrops gets inside information from the label. The writing is intelligent, personable, and non-pretentious. You can read through these pages and honestly get a feel for the music that is described. Every issue features a news section, an interview, band trivia, and is full of reviews. This zine is a find at its price and many back issues are still avaible. -Justin
Brant Nelson 1817 Corinth Ave, #10 Los Angeles, CA 90025-5567

Euphoria
Visually, this is quite a nice fanzine. It has a charmingly homemade, handwritten, cut-and-paste sort of feel. There are strong graphics with good contrast. But unfortunately, the text of Euphoria doesn't measure up to its appearance. The material mostly deals with the more mainstream side of alternative entertainment. The prose inside is not very insightful, and it seems like it was written to appeal more to the creator and her friends rather than an audience of strangers. I found the movie reviews to be especially closed-minded. However, with a more defined focus and some additional contributors, this could become a very good fanzine. - Justin
Jordana Robinson 1304 E Cliveden St Philadelphia PA 19119


The Flying Bitch Sisters Issue 1& 2 ($1.00)
Strange little art zine with a femme focus. Seems to be put togheter with whatever contributions happen to be sent in by a certain time. Quite interesting, but over before you know it. I'd wait to collect more goodies before going to print, and produce a zine we can really sink our teeth into. -Anji
Sister Agnes PO Box 3284 Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Hangry Thing Issue 5 ($2.00)
Super sized art/lit zine with an intensely bright orange cover and rather repulsive cover art. Some pretty intense stuff inside as well. There are some angry women (as the name and cover art suggested to me), but it's not riot girl material, and men are on the staff. There's plenty of other topics included besides the gender issue (some pretty wigged, I might add). Lots of humor, serious commentary, prose, poetry, graphics, photos, games etc, etc, etc... -Anji
PO Box 2474 Santa Cruz, CA 95063-2474

Hissy Fit Issue 1: ''Love'' ($4.00)
Mondon bizarro crossdressing or maybe transexual or transvenstite gossip fanzine. Ten tons o fun for sure. The theme is ''love'',so included with the dozens of art photos are the models quotes on love, also a healty dose of humor (now, now, let's not be mean), some prose, a piece called ''Disco Dance Fever'', a little Eileen Myles propaganda, a bunch of naked men photos and a totally biased horoscope ecouraging all Leos to write the Aries editors for ''a hot, wet personal reading''. Indeed. Includes my friend David's all-time favoritue poem ''Love is Pussy''. -Anji
64 St Marks Pl. Apt#20 New York, NY 10003

Industrial Culture Issue 1 ($2.00)
As first issues go, this is fairly well organized and executed. Good variety of information with a few graphics here and there. Very clean layout done on computer (except for the contents page, which is completely unreadable). I was a bit confused about the name in that I imagined it to be a industrial music zine, and there was very little mention of that sort. Actually I guess the focus is mixed evenly between ''arts, music and media'' as the cover states. It boils to down to mainly reviews, opinions, poetry and contact information. I'd like to see an interview or two next time. Main features are pieces on Salvador Dali and Band of Susans. Good start. -Anji
Rach 2897 Longhorn St Ontario, CA 91761

Industrial Gear Volume 1 No. 12
This is what every city needs, a grass-roots rally to improve the quality of its alternative music scene. Not only is there an honest concern evident for the material that is covered, but it is presented professionally and efficiently. No space is wasted in IG. It is crammed full of reviews and interviews - this issue incledes Ministry's Paul Barker, Foetus' Jim Thirlwell, Chemlab, and (ex-Spacemen 3) Spiritualized - Anjilong with a number of local ads. Informative and effective. -Justin
PO Box 747 Lansdown, PA 19050

Isolation Issue 13 ($8.00 for 6 months /3 issues)
I believe this editor could really benefit from a graphic design course for the layout of this fanzine. The actual zine is put togheter quite nicely, printing, binding, length and so forth, but it's difficult to look at. As fas as content, it has opinions, reviews, poetry, pen-pals, brief interviews, news, a movie review column by Tony Lestat, some art and letters to the editor. I am very glad to see that Isolation does not go in for fashion goth nonsense and  .....

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