Another pillar of SD punk’s plastic arts (along with music, tattoos and flyers) were ‘zines, the samizdat publications created by luminaries such as Marc Rude, Harold Gee, Terry Marine and Clayton Colgin.
Over in the Che Underground forum (separate registration required), Dean Curtis and Toby Gibson, among others, have been bringing these treasures to light. One of Dean’s first contributions was Issue 2 of Quasi-Substitute, dating from 1980 and featuring the Crawdaddys on the cover.
Its reappearance prompted this wonderful response from David Klowden: “Seeing this issue of Q-Sub triggered an intense emotional stew of white hot longing for that place and time, deep black terror at the passage of the years & a kind of fatherly love for my younger self that is beyond description.
“i was at almost every single show in this fanzine. i worked at several of them, including the go-gos & alleycats at the skeleton club show [Dave Fleminger] attended (i was DJ Pete English’s assistant that night). i still have a scar on my wrist that i got that night from my own spiked wristband puncturing me as i danced in the dj booth to the alleycats with elaine verbrugge, pete’s younger sister.
“i worked the Iggy at the Roxy show, too. i was supposed to guard Iggy’s liquor room, but i abandoned my post. I can’t remember if anything was taken, but according to Renee [Edgington], my boss at the time, Iggy requested that she blow him to make up for my mistake, but she declined.
“Thanks so much to Dean for posting this. Eventually joy, sadness & all the other distinct feelings evoked on looking back become a single set of complicated waves coming at you as if across a dark ocean. it’s a struggle for me to reckon with rediscovery of documents like this, which felt almost biblical 28 years ago. It was just some kids with a few bucks, access to xerox machines, cameras, some old storefronts, guitars, lust, nerve, absent parents, and a need to fit in somewhere unobvious. Being part of the rock and roll underground made you instantly legendary. And therefore, we will always be legendary.”
What ‘zines excited you? Who were the key players in the ‘zine scene?
More 1980s San Diego ‘zines:
- Snare #1 (collection Dean Curtis)
- Be My Friend #2 (collection Dean Curtis)
- Social Suicide #3 (collection Toby Gibson)
- Be My Friend #4 (collection Toby Gibson)
Two early addenda: Mike Stax and John Hanrattie, editors of Ugly Things and December’s Children, respectively.
And a follow-up question: In the days when photocopying was more expensive, where were these mags produced?
As an early and frequent contributer to both, I can only tell you that both Stax and Hanrattie were employees of College Copy, and sometimes worked after hours. Infer from that what you will. The early issues of Ugly Things were collated and stapled by the burgeoning Tell-Tale Hearts, Carl Rusk and Mike’s then girlfriend April on Carl Rusk’s dining room table over twelve packs of Lucky Lager.
Dean Curtis … *ahem* … I notice that Mr. McClain gave a rather affectionate review of Land Piranha when they played the Roxy with the Penetrators, Zeros, Dinettes and Rick Elias Band.
I’m starting to think we need a whole Land Piranha retrospective! 🙂
Seriously, these pages are gold when it comes to recapturing the scene nearly 30 years ago: “The Crawdaddys encountered little resistance as they slayed the audience with their deadly R&B. As usual they were sloppy and raw. And as usual people were immediately dancing. Not as usual, there wasn’t the five minute tuning break after each song (just the usual bickering to decide the next selection).”
So Terry Marine calls me up just as I’m about ready to leave the house…he wants to know how to create and publish a tabloid…not exactly a short topic. At first I’m reluctant, because of the depth of the topic and because I’m late…but Terry is insistent. So I agree to give him the quickest outline and ask him if he’s got a pencil for notes. I give him the shorthand fast-forward version of how to do it; pasteup, fonts, galleys, halftones of photographs and the cheapest place to provide that service, where to go for typesetting, who’s the cheapest printer, etc, etc. The whole conversation took less than twenty minutes. A coupla weeks later, out comes the first version of Be My Friend. Damn cool!
I remember Terry distributing the first edition of “Be My Freind”. I think the name had something to do with an incident that occured out in front of a nightclub in Clairmont or something, where a bouncer hit him in the face with a flashlight. That event seemed to launch a campaign to be friends with people.
Does anybody else remember this?
Correction: I notice it wasn’t Dan McClain reviewer but a gentleman named Robert Clark who gave Land Piranha that writeup in Snare #1.
“The evening got off to a bizarre start with the debut of Land Piranha. At first I didn’t know whether to love ’em or kill ’em. As a rule I hate hard rock but for some reason I liked these
guysclowns. Maybe it was their ‘Who gives a shit, let’s have some fun’ attitude. Maybe it was the length of their set (20 min.) ”Perhaps Moral Majority didn’t attend, since a penciled-in annotation over the band’s name reads “DICKS.”
The event, which commanded a $2.99 donation, took place at the Santee Eagles Club, which I don’t believe I ever even heard of. Anybody?
David, Check out Marc Rude’s fabulous zine called Social Suicide that Toby posted. There’s an interview with Terry Marine about why he called it Be My Friend (and a funny picture of him getting a certificate from the SDPD for being some kind of junior cop). Basically he said he just wanted people to just come up and chat with him and maybe even be his friend.
Just a minor correction on that flyer,it was actually “Lou Skum and Your Sister”.Testament of Fate was a band that Londis fronted.I heard the show got shut down early,not sure,Murphy or Eric Rife told me.I didnt go.
The Eagles club was under the KCBQ towers in Santee. I dont know of any more shows there. I got a ride with Scott Harber or in back of Franks red death truck. I think I took that flier from scott’s car, wasnt it a pinto? Hard to remember, I must have been 14. Me, Alan and Scott Slob met Denis Quick and Jim Rao that night. There was so much space on the beer slick floor we played kick the can all nite, I think. I went and saw Ch3 and Shatterd Faith with Dennis last weekend here in Long Beach. Does anyone know how to get rid of him?
Dean: This is alittle off the subject, but I wanted to ask if you might have any back issues of Wham!? I know it’s a San Francisco zine but it did have some San Diego connections. I know Eric & Ingrid Chamberlin were selling it around town back in the day.
The reason I ask is, on the back cover of one issue there is a photo of myself and some friends standing in front of club zu(83 or 84?). I have been trying to find a copie for about 15 years. I don’t have much from those day, no photos.
I thought you would be the guy to ask.
Dylan: Ingred Chamberlin has paid the site a few visits as well … I can make inquiries about this back issue.
Dylan, I don’t have any issues of Wham! but I someone I know may have some. Will let you know. Great to see you on here. I enjoy reading your recollections of your days in San Diego.
Articles of Faith was the original name of 5051.
Scott!It’s good to see you on here.How’s your brother doing.I agree with you about Terry and Chris,they were very much like older brothers in a way.Are you still here in San Diego?Or are you the sound engineer in silverlake who asked to”be my friend” today?Either way it’s good to hear of you.
Mmrothenberg: Tell Ingred I say hello. I must have asked her about the Wham! issue in New York, I think she said all her stuff was in San Diego. Maybe. tell hi for me anyways. And thank you!..is it Matt?
Dean: Thanks! If ya no anybody in the bay whos got one I would be very grateful. I wrote before(83-84) but thinking about it it had the photo had to be in 84 and the issue maybe from late 84 early 85.
I am glad nobody minds me being on this site. I caught some of the tell end of this stuff… I was kinda there kinda not. It’s kinda funny still being the kid at 37 years old.
Dylan: Thank YOU for bringing our demographic down a notch! LOL
Matt or Matthew’s cool. Somehow my MacWEEK colleagues took to calling me Matty, and there’s a whole contingent affiliated with the Encinitas Pannikin who calls me Neptune.
When I arrived in Milwaukee for fifth grade, there were three Matthews in our class, and already a Matt R(ongholt). So my nickname was “Matt Rot” — surprisingly punk-rock for 1974! 🙂
Dylan: I asked Carrie Swing and she didn’t have that issue, but she remembers that you were mod pin-up boy of the month, or something like that, haha! But I will ask around.
MATT ROT: Matt Rot is a great punk name although it needs two t’s in Rott.
Encinitas Pannikin? I thought it was the Leucaida Pannikin. Either way it’s a nice place. I heard they sold some of the Pannikins.
Dean: Ha! I was not the mod pin-up boy of the month. Matter of fact I am almost not in the photo at all. I think part of my bodie is off the page, but I must say I was stoked to be half on the back cover of the Wham zine. The Photo was kinda lame… When I saw it I was thinking “why did they put this dumb picture on here”. Say hello to Carrie for me..Thanks Dean!!!!!
It’s a bit of a tangent, but in the spirit of pre-digital small-press distribution, here’s a Wired.com retrospective of the mimeograph machine. Who remembers that smell?
I helped put one out called The Leading Edge. We printed them in Graphics Art class in school.
Funny it was a straight edge magazine and I was far from sober.
Hey Mark,
Who was the guy that my sister Marta went out with for a while, around ’84, I think? He was a good friend of yours.. The name Jason rings a bell . . .
Yeah Jason,
He helped with the mag we printed in High Scool. He was a cool dude. No idea what happened with him.
Thanks for the CD’s. I made my kids listen to the whole thing when I got it. We had a 2 hour drive, they were cool for the first 30 minutes and then they got bored and wanted the rock / pop station back on. I made the suffer and I enjoyed the whole thing.
Cool mimeograph article.
One of my high school jazz class teachers used to do mimeograph right in front of us every morning as a daily ritual…the roving hand-out-today’s-school-mimeo delivery student would stop in, hand him the day’s page fresh off the machine, and continue their rounds. My teacher would read the page pretty quickly, and then turn his head up towards the sky, place the paper over his face and take in a good long, theatrical breath, and then go “aaaah..”
Perhaps it made the jazz band sound better to him..
No kidding, mimeography was a big-deal to mid-20th Century little magazines. (My folks were putting out short-run poetry mags in the ’50s and ’60s, and while I don’t believe they did mimeographs themselves, it was a very familiar medium to me for distributing literary efforts as well as school announcements.)
Check out this Wikipedia description of mimeographed ‘zines and the mimeo-geeks behind them … All the DIY ingenuity they exercised should be immediately recognizable to anyone who’s ever pushed the capabilities of dot-matrix printers, copy shops or blogging packages to create their own micro-publishing empire:
“Mimeographs were also used for low-budget amateur publishing, especially by science fiction fans, who have now turned mainly to e-mail and the World Wide Web. They were used extensively in the production of fanzines in the middle 20th century, before photocopiers became widespread.
“Fans adopted certain typographical practices, due to the tendency of the mimeo stencil to tear, thus becoming useless. Often, underlining was avoided in spaces and on the letters with descenders, and sometimes replaced by dotted line. The expression of irony by crossing out letters was typically done with a forward slash. This differs from the method in hypertext.
“Letters and typographical symbols were sometimes used to create illustrations, in a precursor to ASCII art. Because changing ink color in a mimeograph could be a laborious process, involving extensively cleaning the machine or, on newer models, replacing the drum or rollers, and then running the paper through the machine a second time, some fanzine publishers experimented with techniques for painting several colors on the pad, notably Shelby Vick, who created a kind of plaid ‘Vicolor.’ “
It used to fill me with a junior high school jubilation to walk past the open door of the workroom and see one of my least favorite teachers bent over, cranking the handle on the mimeograph machine like a Roman galley slave. The cartons labeled “A.B. Dick” were invariably good for a chuckle.
The paste-like scent of freshly mimeographed pages is legendary. There is a scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High in which all the students in Mr. Hand’s class simultaneously hold their new copies to their faces.
Great to see all these. As for where these zines were produced, at least for mine,”Sound Affects”, such as it was, we waited until the boss left the warehouse I worked at and then used thier multiple copiers to run off x amount of zines at a go…usually 100 at a time. Even after I heard those magic words “wasn’t there an extra case of toner…?” 🙂
Bart
ATTENTION: Dave Klowden kissed no one in 1979. Return to your homes. That is all.
I have that issue of ” Leading Edge ” and the guy in question was Jason Trager I think . I actually contributed a few drawings for filler to the first 2 issues of that zine . I don’t know how many more there were after that , but I’ll try and find it so I can scan it for you .
Hi ,Your Sister was a three piece band, Lou Skum vocals and Bass, Bill Bored on guitar and Piggy Gargoyle on drums. We played the Eagles Club in Santee and also Uncle Sams Barbecue in Chula Vista where we were booed off the stage. I ran out of the club, Terry Marine puched me in the face so that I would go back and finish the set. I did and there were even more boos.
Lou Skum
So just to clarify before things get messy- did Dave Klowden kiss Your Sister?
Lou Skum!! Welcome! Dave Fleminger and I were just listening to the Injections record the other day. Prison Walls and Panther Anthem are still some of my favorite songs of all time. You should write up a definitive post on the Injections, one of the earliest and most influential bands that got the SD scene rolling.
I meant Terry Marine punched me in the face, not puched, Kissing Your Sister? Isn’t that like a tie?
Dirty Sanchez, Tossed Salad, Colombian Necktie and Kiss Your Sister are now on my list of potential band names. Of course along with my daughter’s perennial favorite, Asshole Math Teacher.
Those booing bastids didn’t know what they had there with Your Sister ! Did Terry leave any marks or draw blood??
Lou, where the hell are you??
Remember the Kentucky Fried Chicken event and your car?
That is all.
Full Injections Reunion! Listen to your brothers’ calls!!
Yes, I am working on full Injections reunion now. I’ll need help locating lots of folks from ’79. Need a great SD venue. I’m asking Glen Matlock to play bass for us.
Bruce Injection
Eagles Club -- Your Sister’s first gig
I believe The Eagles Club was a VFW hall or something like that. It was quite obvious that they had no idea what they were in for when everyone showed up. I remember one of the main guys at the hall (an ex-marine with an ex-marine haircut) had his long haired bearded son (complete with Led Zeppelin t-shirt) sort of act as doorman and “security”. It was apparent that he had never experienced anything like this. Nor had anyone in Santee for that matter.
Inside it was just one big room that maybe had a 2 foot riser. A bunch of bands played but most notably for me was Your Sister ’cause it was their first gig. Most notably that evening was watching Marc Hoffman (Rude) spit a fine stream of beer into Lou’s ear from 5 feet away as sort of revenge (while they were playing) for writing a poem he published in “Be My Friend” that was critical of Marc’s apparent business practices at Fairmont Hall. According to Lou, Marc had recently raised the entry fee by $2. “Used to charge $5 but now they charge $7”.
The fun spilled out to the parking lot. It was in a mini-mall with shoppers, families and other business going about their way I’m sure in total shock and disgust. As usual the police were called, and they broke everything up. Later that night Lou and Kathleen crashed their car on the way home and they had to go to the hospital. Kathleen hurt her back, but not too seriously. I think Judith and Margaret might have been in the car too.
Oh, yeah Uncle Sam’s barbeque not the one in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in southest eastest San Diego. We played on the pool tables.
Bill !! We sure did ! The best thing about the bbq show was that everyone that had never heard of us was dancing 🙂
Holy shit…I just literally laughed out loud at that imagery that Jigger wrote with Lou getting punched. Sorry Lou…. but 20 something years later it is kinda funny.I think Bill and I just continued to play as Lou walked away and then came back.
P Gargoyle are you still in SD, I am.
the funny thing about the show was they where dancing and booing at the same time!
they new they had to boo!
but just couldn’t stop themselvses from dancing!!
Bill -- recognize this amp???
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25213269@N07/2378680254/
Bruce
In response to Mark and Ray’s thread about Leading Edge zine…I’m the Jason who dated your sister and worked on the zine! Good to see you’re both doing well. Say Hi to Marta! I still have the issue of Ugly Things with the Sky Saxon interview. That zine was awesome.
Jason , what’s up man . Long time . . . I don’t know if you remember me , but we had become punk rock pals from a long time ago .
Regardless I hope you’re doing well and things are good for you .
Bruce Injection, yes I do, that was a really good amplifier.
I’m so glad to hear or should I say read stuff you guys wrote.
If for some reason Glenn Matlock can’t make it ,I’ll play bass if you want.
Either way I’m looking forward to it.
We were so young! I want a do over.
Bill Bored -- one of the originals. You were there before there was a there. Rather have you than Glen Matlock, maybe if Sid were alive that would be a different story……
Here’s another look at the amp you built, boy wonder.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25213269@N07/2378680254/
bruce
Bill Bored, I mentioned you on The Injections thread. March 24th, I think.
Repsonse to Dean Curtis post from back in Aug, 2008: Marc Rude did a xerox ‘zine called, “My Way”. He did that 1978-1980.
Social Suicide was from a Mission Hills rich girl named Sarah. You can find some of that on Toby Gibson’s Flickr.
The “cop” photo is actually from the Marine Corps. I scored well on a physical fitness test and got a certificate. Sarah drew badges on us and said we were cops. Very punk of her. Maybe it would have been better if people thought I was a cop. It would have been better if the cops thought I was.
The Eagles’ Club Show: I don’t remember ANYTHING about that, or even that it ever took place. I used to drink and black-out. It makes me sick, sick to think that I was there and still missed it.
Hippies sang, “Got Stoned and Missed It.” Punks got drunk and missed it.
Bruce’s Harmony amp: he said, “It’s a sound a rich man can’t get.”
Bill Bored we need to get some CAWFFFFFFFFFFFFFeeeeeeeeeeeee soon. Email me
Hi Terry, good to hear your still around
P Gargoyle fill this out so i can contact you http://www.teck1.com/contactus.html
Hi Lou and Terry, you too if you want, i have often wonderd what happend to you all
hi Jo my new band is playing at brick by brick wednesday the 19th at 11pm
thats 4/19/09
i would love to see you
quite sweet to know that peeps recall the sam’s barbecue shows since it was bobby-x and i that maneuvered them into being.
sam told me we had no stage to play on and i said no problem pops!…..we’ll just set plywood on these pool-tables of yours and we have a very nice stage for these equally nice bands to play on.
but i really don’t think we could call that dancing….it was more like trying to shake all that caffeine beer and excitement out of our systems before the entire stage collapsed.
good to hear of those that still walk and talk and almost remember things.
Yay!! Clay!! Very excited to have you here … If you explore around, you’ll find yourself cited many times on this blog. 🙂
Welcome!
Clay -- if you remember Bobby X you must be a friend of mine. Man, ask about the private Injections show at his house some time!!
thanks for the welcome guys…..
lemme just say x and mine’s friendship was quite short-lived and was born of dubious-origins to begin with.
he was a hustler of phenomenal proportions……as he would have been the first to admit.
i feel responsible in some way for introducing him to the scene.
i hope it turned out better for you.
i like old stories though some i like more than others.
some i can tell…some i can’t…and sometimes i have difficulty knowing which is which.
i will say that man was extremely talented however……
that was a particular quality he had which i was often in awe of.
strangely enough…beyond his talent for organization…..he had this ability to get on practically any musical instrument and play it nearly like a wizard.
i guess on some level it was like child’s play to him……though on another i know he really was possessed of a true fondness for it.
we had some amazing jams though and for a moment considered those possibilities.
but as so often is the case…darkness has that way of overtaking things.
anyway…..i bought a scanner/printer a couple years back and never did a scan on it but you’ve inspired me to learn it this evening and i’ve just scanned 3 old Men Of Clay fliers……funny enough one was from the first sam’s barbecue show…..
you can see x’s name in the corner next to mine.
december 11, 1981 was quite a bit ago it seems.
how can i get these 2 you guys?
Clay: I’m happy to broker … E-mail anything to cheunderground@gmail.com. May I post ’em publicly? In any case, tell me who you’d like stuff forwarded to.
thanks matt…..i will e-mail these to you.
i’ve scanned @ 300 dpi…. as you’ve stated was sufficient earlier in the thread.
i have sagittarius on the rise so i’m not super into looking backwards…..nor living in the past…..
but i have to admit to being quite moved being here (we can blame my daughter for bringing this site to my attention this afternoon!!!)
looking at theses threads and the roster of people here…..all i can say is oh my…..please post anything i send you.
i can’t think of a better home for them!!
bruce……my e-mail is [REDACTED] if you want to meet and exchange stories.
always interested in seeing what pieces of the puzzle i may have missed….no doubt there’s much.
got it…..thanks for the protection.
sending you some more stuff then……..including a nice marc rude samurai-flier.
Matt please send Clay my email anytime. Thanks!
HEY SO WHAT NEXT
>>HEY SO WHAT NEXT
ESTRAGON:
What about hanging ourselves?
VLADIMIR:
Hmm. It’d give us an erection.
ESTRAGON:
(highly excited). An erection!
VLADIMIR:
With all that follows. Where it falls mandrakes grow. That’s why they shriek when you pull them up. Did you not know that?
ESTRAGON:
Let’s hang ourselves immediately!
No, first wait.
Hey lou I used to hang out at the mod house. Hope to see a reunion
does anyone know where the keyboardist for catholic displine is ?
El Vez esta aqui
http://popculturecantina.blogspot.com/2006/01/el-vez.html
http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=2418484
Be My Friend #4, 1982:
PS: I don’t remember David Klowden being referred to as “Dave Aesop”!
That Be My Friend is great to see again, but is there a place where we could see it larger? My old eyes can’t see it too well.
>>That Be My Friend is great to see again, but is there a place where we could see it larger? My old eyes can’t see it too well.
Dean: Cliff Cunningham’s Facebook page holds many treasures! 🙂
DEAN -- Cliff has a prescription for viewing it in a large format…probably printable too. Ask him for info !
I’ve been enjoying all Cliff’s photos on Facebook but missed this.
did anyone find Cliffs instructions as to how to view/print this in large format?? I saw it somewhere and lost the link!
>>did anyone find Cliffs instructions as to how to view/print this in large format??
Bruce: Have you tried pressing your nose against the screen and cursing? It often works for me!
MATT -- Have you tried pressing your…no I won’t say it!!
CHE has been so civilized lately..Haha
Somewhere on Cliffs Facebook are directions for large format. I’m just a burnout and can’t find it!
Here’s a chance to swap your old ‘zines for some new old ‘zines! This invitation arrived in the Che Underground In box:
“Yeller, an art collective, is hosting a zine swap on April 17. The swap is taking place in two segments: for the first half, the zines will be on display and the swap will take place during the second half of the night. We’re taking submissions from anyone interested in exhibiting their zine at the show. … The more people, the better. Free zines and free beer.”
According to the site, the event starts at 7:00 p.m. at Subtext Gallery & Bookstore, 2479 Kettner Blvd. in San Diego. Submission deadline is April 2.
>>i am very amused by the dispute over whether i really kissed a certain girl in 1979.
David: I kissed a girl, and I liked it! (But don’t tell her daughter.)