Zine thing.

TORE BACK, #1

Michael Burnett is not only a killer photographer, but he's a great writer and storyteller. He was the guy who originated the ridiculous trivia questions when interviewing pros (showing a knack for skate history), asking some team rider questions about past team riders, etc. He's been doing and contributing to 'zines for years, and he finally got around to making another Tore Back is a collection of tour stories and photos, sort of the background of the articles he writes about the pros. There are two great (and hilarious) stories about meeting Lavar McBride and Ali Boulala, and photos of demos and road trips and tours and candid moments that most would never see (if you're the guy who got shot in the stomach with a paintball at a demo, you gotta see the photo). The centerfold of Cards is priceless (get well soon!). The printing is full color and high quality--don't expect Burnett to be sleepin' on that aspect Send a couple bucks to: 2019 Glasgow, Cardiff, CA 92007

STREET THEATER, #6

Following a warning that the contents might offend the "PC crowd," Street Theater presents gut level skating and the calamities that go with it. The opener, "How to Fuck with People," is so tame--really, is that all you could come up with?--but the content gets better with the turning of pages. There's some random clip art in there, and a road trip story that involves copious amounts of alcohol and skateboarding. There's also some graft content, including a story on how the editor got into tagging. It's rounded out with some interviews (BJ Morrill, Stacy Lowery, and a band called Useless Wooden Toys), some top 10s, rants about the book Ishmael (a great book, by the way, on organized religion and the environment/state of the world) and punk rock, and a few other tidbits (crossword puzzle!). Send $2: 3045 Harriet Ave S, #2, Minneapolis, MN 55408

SECOND WIND, #2

The first thing I thought about was my second wind of the day, which is usually right after I wake up. I break wind throughout the day, and like my second as much as my first or any other. But this 'zine is not about farting; it is about skateboarding, from a girl skater's perspective. There's some great stuff in there: a road trip back east some ranting and raving about Bush and public funding for arts, some random art, a rant about veganism and some New Mexico coverage. Not preachy and overly "girls kick ass" style, but there are a few too many didn't-quite-get-to-the-coping photos and a section called. I shit you not. "Girly Grinds." Send a buck or two: 412 High Street SE Apt C. Albuquerque, NM 87102

LOWCARD, #3

Aim low! It's Lowcard! Oh no, someone's barfing! And wait! Did someone pee their pants? What do you expect from admitted underachievers? This one carries the familiar Lowcard banner further, and is almost entirely random stuff that will make more sense to some than others; although, there are a few good skate shots in there. As far as organized stuff there are reviews of the Remember video and the movie Stoked. That always bugged me. Why did that Stickler call the movie Stoked? Were you supposed to watch it and get stoked? There was nothing stoke-induced about that movie, except perhaps realizing the future Hollyweird potential of Jason Jesse. Anyway, send something to: 530 Divisadero St #298, San Francisco, CA 94117

01010011011011110110110101

Awright, funny guy, here goes. Some kind of "conceptual" 'zine here, written in binary code and with photos of the same snack vending machine throughout. Sorry, but I do not "speak" binary. Is it art? Is it satire? Is it satirical art? Are the robots coming to take us away? Are you willing to send a guy named Jordan Marty a buck or two to find out? Only you can answer the last question: 357 Brookedge St NE, Palm Bay, FL 32907

RAZORCAKE, #18

Yeah! Another Razorcake! If you haven't figured it out by now this is the music 'zine that's got its finger on the pulse of that new rock and roll music. Nardwuar the Human Serviette takes on photographer BeV Davies (and there's a bunch of her old punk photos in there too). There's a Weirdos interview, and then there's the usual stuff that makes this mag so great--killer reviews, interviews, columns, comics, photos, etc. Send $3 to: PO Box 42129, Los Angeles, CA 90042

PAYING IN PAIN, #13

Man, this is a big one, and although it's newsprint it's in color (well, at least some of it). The downside? Some sketchy color separation work, but whatever. This is a thick issue, with tons of stuff in there. The mag starts off with some "Big Gun Underdogs," then moves to some regional features (Michigan, Atlanta, NYC), an interview with the editor of Diptych (a skate/art book), Nick Gates interview, Jesse Hotchkiss art feature and interview, and an interview with Bobcat (AKA Dogfart), the editor of website Sleestak.com. Most of it is pretty killer and high quality overall, but like I said, it appears as though some printing problems are holding this one back (the captions for the Atlanta article were unreadable ...) Still, this one is killer and worthwhile, and my guess is that they wig smooth out the bumps over time. Shit, you try figuring out how to print a full color 'zine, man! Send $2 (or $7 for four issues) to: PO Box 4128, Visalia, CA 93278

"ZINE GEEKS--often fastidious and overly anal retentive collectors of trivia and worthless tidbits who seek to foul the postal service with their ridiculous rants and musings about the boring minutiae of their everyday lives.

Often times the stereotype holds, to some degree or another. But every so often something comes along that breaks the mold. That's what we like to see here: not the usual mundane crap, but stuff that stands out And generally that's the stuff I review. If you're thinking of doing a 'zine, by all means do it. You'll never know what other people think about it until it's too late, which is why you should think twice about sending stuff for review (especially if you think it's crap, because if you think it's crap it's a sure bet I will). And it's also why you should take a review with a grain of salt. You should make the 'zine because it's something you want to do, not because you want to please someone else, it's generally obvious which category a 'zine falls in to. So if you get a bad review, buck up. Keep it up, if you want. Hold a grudge. Just don't act like a spoiled child (like the guy named Scott who spells his name Scaught).

That being said, this month and next I am going to deviate a little from the norm. Next month I'll showcase someone who's actually got it right, who took the criticism as it was meant to be (constructive) and who has been putting out a kick-ass rag ever since. But this month, I'm going to talk a little hit about 'zines as the starting point. I did a brief and unscientific poll of a few of the folks who work for Thrasher, to see if they felt as though their work doing 'zines was a jumping-off point for working at the mag. Almost all said "no."

Rhino did one issue of a 'zine called OPP (Other People's Pools) around '89 or '90 (when the "OPP" song was big). It was a one-off deal, didn't think nothin' of it, but eventually started getting more into shooting photos, submitted stuff to other 'zines, then bammo! He's hovering around San Diego shooting pros left and right, taking road trips, livin' the life.

I used to trade 'zines with Pat O'Dell; little did I know he was 13-to-16 years old when he was making Rye 'zine. That one kicked ass! It might have been because of his 'zine that he got noticed, but Burnett brought him on board. Pat still makes 'zines all the time. Michael Sieben is another one that Burnett got the scoop on. Starting with Keg Party, his 'zines made the rounds and he got the call up. Shelby Woods documented the goings on at the EMB before it blew up in his 'zine Times & Crimes, made with friends for friends (and laughs).

Jocko Weyland did a 'zine from 1982 to 1985 called Revenge Against Boredom, but it wasn't until 12 years later that he published stuff in Thrasher (and a few years later he published his killer book, The Answer is Never). He never considered it a direct route, but that's just how things happened. He's now happily putting out Elk whenever he feels the time is right, and is involved in literary endeavors.

And Michael Burnett did a great 'zine called Feedbag outta CO before he became Thrasher's roving editor. And he's still up to it--check out the review of his latest one, Tore Back.

I've been doing a 'zine since 1989 (although it takes a couple years between issues now, but I swear the new one's almost done!) What all of us have in common was not some urging to get our foot in the door, but rather to express ourselves, show off what we've got, and let other people know what was going on in our neck of the woods. We weren't trying to sell anything--including ourselves--or sell out, just create. And if that's what you're all about, send your shit my way and I'll pass it on.--Wez Lundry