Zine thing.

Copper Press #11

Indie rock and emo have never really been my bag, I guess I just can't get over a lot of the whining that seems to go hand-in-hand with the two genres. But hey, just because it's not for me doesn't mean it ain't for you. And if it is, it seems as though Copper Press might be something you wanna check out. It's really thick (140+pages) and has all kinds of stuff on this kind of music, as well as some artier-type stuff and an interview with Cairo Foster. Aesthetically it is very well done, and it comes with a CD that made me weep...just kidding. Send $4 to: PO Box 1601, Acme, Michigan 49610 or check www.copperpress.com.

Shake Some Action #1

This is an interesting find, split between live photos of bands and fans and some record and music reviews. There are some cool photos in there, but unfortunately they are marred by poor reproduction. Note to all 'zinesters who wanna put photos in your mag: Make sure you are not photocopying photos directly, including black and white! Use some kind of filter, like a halftone. On some photocopiers there's a photo setting or "photoscreen!" Otherwise you will get a jumble of high-contrast slop. The music reviews are written in a style I can appreciate, from someone who is obviously a fan of music and appreciates what music can do to people. The bands covered include The Briefs, The Records, The Donnas, and others. And by the way, in case you didn't know, the name is from a fantastic Flamin' Groovies record. Send a couple bucks to: 135 Wapwallopen Rd, Nescopeck, PA 18635.

Shazzbutt #s 7 and 8

First of all, didn't Mork say "shazbot," not "shazzbutt?" Well, yes he did, and there is even a lawsuit based on this very term, going on right now. So perhaps it is good the editors of Shazzbutt changed the spelling. Number seven has a dodge ball story, some record reviews, a band interview, and some prose. Number eight is mostly made up of stories of boards that the author has broken at different points in his life, which is sometimes interesting and funny, sometimes kind of inane. Send a buck to: 5413 S 6th Ave, Countryside, IL 60525.

Killing Time, #2

This is the kind of skit I like to see, foreign skate 'zines. Killing Time hails from Ireland, as if you couldn't tell by the three skinny, pale dudes flexing on page one. Great photos of some kill-looking Irish skate spots, interviews with legendary English vert dog Davie Phillip, Brian Brannon of JFA, and Wayne Gallagher, a skate shoe survey, and a piece about the worthlessness of ABEC ratings for bearings. There's also a nice piece on Marseille (sidebar). Good writing and photos, and a dose of soul and attitude make this a top notch publication. Since postage is gonna be a bundle if you live in the States, write Bruce for info on how to get it: [e-mail].

Glue and Ink Rebellion

Sean Carswell, Gorsky Press

Carswell's got the goods. We'd been hearing about his hilarious short stories for awhile down here at the mag -- he'd even done some good music pieces for us (see Citizen Fish, Feb. '02) -- but... I had no idea. Glue is a collection of stories he's written over the past 10 years (plus some new ones) and, well, it's like the guy fuckin' knows me. And you. And your friends, and everything you've done in the past that the rest of the world walking by sneered or laughed at. And he knows all of these things even though he's writing from Florida and here and there and you're from Centerville or Dixon or France or something. He knows about the times you've been driving alone through nowhere USA, rawk punk blaring, transmission shipping, pretending it's all "a figment of your imagination." He knows of your snow-bound cabin fever and call about the time you convinced your landlord that his brand-new BMW convertible was nothing more than a Mazda Miata. I read this entirely in an afternoon on the front stoop under an un seasonable SF sun, with my six -- and eight-year-old to myself. Try it on... www.gorskypress.com

Excerpt from Killing Time...

December '94, this was one of the first skate magazines I ever bought. I can vividly remember picking it up at the local newsagent's in Tralee and just being blown sway. This cover had more effect on my skateboarding than any other thing ever had. It was everything we didn't have in small-town Ireland. Perfect-looking concrete bowls when we didn't have so much as a quarter-pipe. Blue skies when we counted the weeks since our last dry manual session. Wade Spayer had skills when we only dreamed we had. Also, Wade had style. I stared at that cover more than I ever stared at any Penthouse. It set my mind wandering so often. I knew before I even had the magazine paid for that someday I would skate Marseille. I used to daydream about concrete parks and fall asleep visualizing myself just endlessly carving pools. Over the years I have been to Marseille a few times, saved up what I could to go where I could. I wade those things happen. I've seen the blue skies of Marseille and I have completed lines there I used to d ream about, as well as a few unforeseen gnarly slams! I have learned to skate some transitions too, so what's left, style? I suppose you can't buy everything! -- Bruce K.