just so everyone knows, the project isn't dead--i'm just very busy now that i'm back in school at uf. my first priority has to be school right now. also, i just don't have the necessary capital to do the project correctly.
but don't worry, it'll happen eventually. :)
-james
09/27/03
p.s. be sure to check out (and sign!) my guestbook, at the bottom of this page.
(Originally posted on http://www.gainesvillebands.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2481&PN=15.)
Message posted by kdork on 09.Jul.2003 at 6:53am
lately i've been thinking a lot about how much i miss putting together zines and stuff. i did a bunch with friends back in high school, and i always loved the creativity and the collaborative effort.
i remember a while back someone posted about starting a zine, but i never heard anything else about it after a while.
what i'd like to do right now actually is put out an audio zine, exclusively on cassette tapes. they're cheap, and i enjoy the limitations and obsolescence of the media itself. actually, putting out 60 minute tapes might actually be cheaper than xeroxing a decent digest sized paper magazine these days.
what i want is for the zine to focus on telling stories, interviews, poetry read aloud, and music played live (probably in that order).
what i don't want is music reviews. i forget who said it, but i remember someone i read had a funny quote about music and zines to the effect of "never do a zine about music, because no-one cares what you think about it." basically, i want to do something that constructs and creates rather than deconstructing the existing work of other people.
the zine will be something personal and maybe a little serious. but don't quote me on that.
work would also need to go into creating the tape case and insert, so i'm not excluding visual art. it would be just as important. additionally, depending on how things go there might be a more traditional zine component that goes along with the tape.
so yeah. anyone interested in doing anything like this? helping out?
-james
Message posted by kdork on 10.Jul.2003 at 12:55am
thanks for all the feedback, everyone. let me address some questions/concerns now.
(01) q: no-one listens to tapes/owns a tapedeck.
a: i don't entirely agree. i think this would be a great tape to listen to in a car, or in a walkman. i think most people still have easy access to to some kind of cassette player.
let me stress however! i in no way wish to create something exclusionary. i don't want to make something that prevents people from enjoying it because the media's too inaccessable. so--we'll see what happens as far as final format.
(02) q: paper magazines have better readership/distribution.
a: this is true. does anyone know what zines exist in gainesville already? and i don't count iguana or satellite--those are real, professional magazines.
on that note: why aren't there more/any gainesville zines? mine doesn't need to be (and shouldn't be) the only one. why don't interested people get together and start thinking about a gainesville zine publishing co-op? i have a number of tools (long reach stapler, paper cutter) that people could use, and i'm sure other people have things i could use. it would be fantastic to have a thriving print culture spring up here. i think the time is right for it to happen. i may start another thread to this effect later.
any high schoolers out there? there _have_ to be some zines floating around your high school. i know that's when i started doing them.
additionally, let me take the time here to mention that i do not want the audio zine to be a political vehicle for the left -or- the right. i hate barely liteerate political zines almost as much as i hate the ones filled with barely literate album reviews. this isn't to say that i think there's no place for politics, just not in (any of) the one(s) i want to make. i like to leave politics up to people that know what they're talking about, i.e. not me.
(03) q: why not use cds?
a: i guess i've always considered the whole "zine thing" as more of an art project than anything else. art should be produced through a media that reflects and amplifies the message of the piece. i have imagined this project as being somewhat more personal and intimate than other kinds of zines; something more fleeting, like an old time radio broadcast. the oral tradition is becoming more antiquated every day.
cassette tapes are obsolete and fragile. by their very nature they degrade in quality every time they are used. they are unapologetically mechanical and analog and will likely cease to exist in ten years or so. they, like the sonnet, are very limiting in form and this is why i love them. it takes effort to create something with rules and limitations. i want the project to have the feel of old time story telling, the old time oral tradition i think society has lost, and i think that cassettes are the most aesthetically appropriate form i have readily available to me.
also, i just don't find cds all that sexy. funny thing to say, i know, considering i'm not a record junkie or anything. visually, i just find tapes more appealing. it's the same reason i like mechanical typewriters better than computers.
(04) q: wouldn't cds (or an ezine) be cheaper and faster to produce?
a: no, not on the small scale i'm looking at. _just_ cds would be cheaper, but the jewel cases, even the slimline ones, add significantly to the price. i am estimating a cost of roughly sixty-five cents per unit for each cassette with a twenty page booklet, and around a dollar for each cd and twenty page booklet. which reminds me, i want a booklet attached to each case. here's a mockup of what i'm thinking about.
http://www.geocities.com/kdork_hates_you/audiozine.html
i don't think that zines should ever cost more than a dollar. it would be possible to do cds (and i _probably_ will), but the profit would be greater off tapes. this means i could make more units.
it is true that cds would take less time to create. i am, however, looking into ways around this. i may just need to hook up a bank of old cassette recorders, or buy a cassette duplication machine. if anyone has any ideas on this one i'm all ears.
as for ezines, a thousand times no. i hate reading things on computer screens for more that a few minutes at a time. (funny, because this post is like a fucking novel.) also, i don't feel that an ezine would serve the content. there will surely be a website, but its purpose will be to give people information about finding/ordering the zine.
I think that covers most all of soccer mom's questions, as well as a few others. now, onto other specifics...
(05) farmpunk: "please include the monologues of the homeless and mentally ill in gainesville."
a: i don't think i'd be comfortable with that. you should start a zine based around that.
(06) headtoucher: "I think cassettes are cool. ... I was actually thinking about starting up a super-small local label for bedroom pop, noise-experimental stuff and releasing it on cassette (but I was also thinking CDR's). ... Anyway, I'm down to contribute music, poetry, maybe a bit of visual art. Lemme know."
a: that sounds rad. i mentioned earlier forming some kind of print media collective, but a label that covered the distro of zines and obscure local music on cassette would be totally fucking awesome.
(07) the soccer moms: "I've had quite a bit of experience with a large scale skate zine out of Jax. We are up to 35,000 per issues, and get distributed in every state."
a: what's the name of the zine? i would love to hear more about this.
thank you very much to everyone who has offered to help or offered advice or opinions already. hopefully i covered most all of the questions people might have.
(08) q: now, some notes about the specific format of the audio zine as i have so far envisioned it.
a: i plan to use 60 minute tapes. they will be divided into four 15 minute sections.
(08a) the first section will be a story. examples: this could be a fairy tale, a radio play, what you did last summer... almost anything as long as it is genuine.
(08b) the second section will be an interview. examples: local celebrity, your really cool uncle, that person who sings in that band you like, whatever. hey, maybe you're really cool and i should interview you.
(08c) the third section will be poetry. any style/format invited.
(08d) the fourth section will be musical. examples: that kickin' techno you've been making on your computer, your dumb neighbor and his acoustic dave matthews band covers (not really--dmb sucks and so does creed), your band that can't get a gig, you singing in the shower, your mom singing a lullaby. almost anything.
i think that's everything. man this is a long ass message. keep the questions/discussion coming, i can yammer on for hours. :)
i can also be contacted via aol instant messenger at JHVA1. feel free to say hi.
-james
|
|
|
|
|
^^^ i'm such a sellout. ^^^