Dec 01, 2015 Save Music in Chinatown: The First Two Years zine revisited
Sharing ideas and aesthetics through the printed page was an awesome experience, especially since my friend Eric and I had started off with the most humble form of journalism–the zine. And for our publication to push a subculture and build a community whose impact would trickle up into the mainstream was never anticipated or even hoped for. Yet over 16 years that happened.
Still, I was stoked to make the unexpected transition from being the co-founder and editor of a publication to organizing events in my next life. How cool was it for my wife Wendy and me to revisit the punk rock spirit that fueled the magazine where we met, and apply it toward all-ages, fund-raising matinee concerts for the music program at our daughter’s public school in Chinatown? And to start growing a community there and expose kids to DIY subculture as well?
So it was poetic when we decided to make a zine that would document the first two years of our Save Music in Chinatown project. We asked friends to contribute their photos and thoughts, and the process was as familiar as it was exciting–marrying images and words to document and grow something that matters personally. The stuff that came with success like advertising, distribution, and glossy pages went out the window. It was back to collating, stapling, and folding just for the fun of it. Even Eloise can help.
Of course, it was pretty cool blowing through the hand-assembled edition of 100 so quickly. We sold a lot at the merch table while kicking off our third year of shows, but also gave away plenty of them to bands, helpers, and supporters. We saved just one for Eloise’s archives.
An upcoming talk to OTIS students about art and activism has given me an excuse to make a second edition of the zine with a new cover image and four bonus pages with photos from our seventh show. How much cooler is it to share a zine than to give a link to a blog or post on Facebook? And how much longer will it last than either–with the power to collect dust on a coffee table for weeks before it goes to a bookshelf for safe keeping? Digital stuff is more timely and flashy but comes and goes like a fart in the wind.
I look forward to making another volume but that won’t be until this one is gone and there’s enough material for a brand new one. Maybe at the end of our fourth year? Sit in on the OTIS talk and you can have a copy of the one I’m working on. If not, you can buy it at our next benefit show on January 31. Shows, zines, shows, zines–it’s the opposite of a vicious circle with all the fun, energy, and ringing ears of a slam pit without the bruises.
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