ZINE REVIEWS: ISSUE TWO

FLOATING TURDS #2 (A5, 52pg, £1ppd)

Bit of a crap name (no pun intended), but then people who call their zines after frightening farm animals shouldn't throw stones. Or something like that. Anyways, this one is spilling over with interviews with Save Ferris, AFI, Imbalance, Intensity, the Griswalds, Panic, H20, Vanilla Pod, Turtlehead and Consumed - a rather diverse selection, I'm sure you'll agree. The layout's kinda sloppy but readable. Neil Tinyflecks' food column was a good read, and it was also good to see some Columbo worship too. Perhaps the quality of the writing isn't too hot in places, but there's a lot to read here so it's worth a look. (18 Rectory Avenue, High Wycombe, Bucks HP13 6HW)

 

FRACTURE #5 (A4, 80pg, 25p + 39pSAE)

Ooh, Fracture's gone colour with its use of red ink on the cover and centre pages! What's next, glossy covers and a cover mounted CD?! (Only joking... or am I?!) Anyway, this rather fine bumper Christmas special has interviews with One Car Pile-Up, Stampin' Ground and Jonathon Baker of "Greedy Pigs" zine, thought provoking stuff about Internet privacy and an anti-work piece and several truckloads of columns and reviews. Best bit: Monk Dave's J Church review ("how many times do I need to know that Floyd called you on the god-damn phone?!"). I would imagine that you've all picked this up already, but if not you should cos Fracture has definitely established itself as an essential part of the UK punk scene. Issue six is out now too, but I kinda lost my copy of it somehow... (PO Box 623, Cardiff CF3 9ZA)

 

GEEK ESSAY #3 (A5, 40pg, 20p+39pSAE)

Each issue of this zine seems to be better than the last, which is good to see. This time round Nogs and co have interviewed The Babies Three, Stinking Polecats, Paul Resolve, Rich Speedowax, Beauty School Dropout and Urusei Yatsura, plus the usual reviews and columns all slapped together in a messy-in-a-good-way cut'n'paste frenzy. Energetic, fun to read and really cheap. I'm definitely looking forward to issue four. (Plas Devon Farm, Rossett Road, Holt, Wrexham LL13 9SY)

 

GONE WISE CRACKERS #3 / SMALL SAILOR #6 (A5, 60pg, 50p+SAE)

Split issue featuring two Yorkshire zines. This is the first time I've seen Gone Wise Crackers, a cool snip'n'stick zine. This is the ska special with three articles on the genre (the past, the future and one on whether Less Than Jake are sell-outs) and interviews with Link 80, the Supaflies and the Write Offs. Flip it over for Small Sailor, a zine which I have read before and enjoyed. This issue is cool too, sporting interviews galore (UK Subs, Snuff (a "proper" interview, too!), Raggity Anne, the Xplosions, Speedurchin and Suicide Machines) plus stuff on indoor car boot sales, mooning near London tourist attractions (nice pix!), Dagobah tour diary and the legendary "Dark Figures" piccies that Small Sailor put in the centre pages. Two good zines and shedloads to read, this gets the thumbs up from me. (EITHER Alex, 7 The Laurels, Leeds LS8 1PD OR Rich, 39 Station Rd, Thirsk N. Yorks, YO7 1QH)

 

HAPPY HOUSE #10 (A5, 48pg, free+39pSAE)

This one's been out for a while, but I suppose Rick and Sam have been preoccupied with their baby of late. Chats with Erase Today, Leadbelly (RIP) and Cleatus fill the pages along with all your favourite punk rock columnists, a useful news section and, of course, reviews. Rick is one of my favourite record reviewers as he always sneaks in cool puns such as "you won't get bogged down with this class album" in the Marshes review. Essential. New issue out now, but I aint received my copy yet. (PO Box 506, Hull HU5 1YX)

 

JELLYBRAIN #4 (A5, 20pg, 50p ppd)

Silly, funny, humour-based zine which replaces the usual columns and interviews with cartoons and humorous pieces, and it works. The cartoons are well drawn and the zine made me laugh out loud at several points. Bravo to Paul for such a different zine! Long may it continue. There are also the more traditional zine thingies such as reviews and a Raggity Anne (who Paul plays in)/Manges tour diary, and it's all great. A bit thin, but then each issue must take quite a while to complete with the drawings and stuff. Comes with a free leaflet to tell shops with pun-based names that they are crap, which I disagree with cos I think crap puns are ace. Whatever, this is more than worth the entrance fee. (4 Clarence Street, Nuneaton, Warks CV11 5PT)

 

JUNGLE JIM #1 (A5, 32pg, 50p+SAE)

This impressive debut has interviews with Dave Crackle, Hooton 3 Car (RIP), Russel Remains, Paul Resolve and Goober Patrol (hey, that's a totally British line up! Cool!), plus stuff on Situationism (which I'm gonna try and read up on soon), Hong Kong action movies, the meaning of existence and a "comedy" agony uncle page (is it just me or are spoof agony pages always far less funny than the real thing?). The layouts are neat and clean and it's all well written. The next issue is due soon, and if this is anything to go by it'll be grrreat. (9 Henry Preston Rd, Tasburgh, Norwich NR15 1NU)

 

MY GOD CAN BEAT UP YOUR GOD #6 (A5, 48pg, 50p+SAE)

Scruffy, funny and from Thirsk - that just about sums up My God... The best bits are the little drawings and irrelevant bits that crop up every now and then. This also has a bunch of stuff on horror films, interviews with Oi Polloi, The Selecter, Lowlife, PMT, Bus Station Loonies, Snuff (kinda) and Joe 90, plus ace tour diaries from Chopper and the Write Offs. There's even stuff about the God of television that is Jerry Springer, who seems to be cropping up all over the punk rock world at the moment. Comics and toys are also featured, which is good to see. Tons of stuff to read here, too. Top. (6 Mowbray Place, Thirsk, North Yorkshire YO7 1RF)

 

P101 #5 (A4, 48pg, £3ppd)

Glossy advertising pamphlet that comes free with a compilation CD. Seriously, about half of this is paid advertising or features on the labels whose tracks appear on the CD. In fact, there are so many adverts that there isn't enough room to print any reviews! There are some pretty decent interviews though, with Henry Rollins, Green Day, Fat Mike, Stampin' Ground and Fury 66. Erm, and a column about how the editor doesn't wear combats anymore cos they're trendy (God, does it really fucking matter? You should wear what you like whether it is trendy or not! It's trendy to listen to Green Day, so are you going to stop listening to them?), accompanied with a picture of a topless girl. Wasted space, sloppy writing... a case of style over content. I guess this isn't aimed at your average zine reader; it's seems more geared towards the Kerrang kids. Worth buying for the CD, though. Oh, and in the next issue Ross is gonna do a feature on zines... but each zine has to pay £15 to be in it! Yeah! Punk rock! (PO Box 1152, Winterbourne, Bristol BS36 2YD)

 

PLAN 13 (A5, 40pg, 50p ppd)

I missed the first issue of this because I am crap and kept forgetting to buy envelopes. My loss, I suppose. I guess by now everyone knows that this is the product of Jennie who co-edited Tiny Flecks of Spit, huh? Thought so. Anyhoo, this time around there are chats with the Vandals, Chixdiggit, Avail, Burning Heart recs, Rich Speedowax, Gearhead (mostly reprinted from an old Punk Planet and a little out of date) and Screaming Beaver (a Screeching Weasel tribute band featuring Cov John from Suspect Device zine). The DTPed layouts are all very posh and neat, and there’s even an article on the Tick! Yay! We need more comics in zines! Order now to avoid disappointment, as they say on infomercials. (186 Knutsford Road, Warrington, Cheshire WA4 2QU)

 

PRESUMED GUILTY #1 (A5, 20pg, 50p+SAE)

Kinda flimsy zine with a vegan/political outlook. Interviews with Imbalance and Area Effect, a very interesting piece on religion, an article on tribal peoples plus a few more bits and bobs. Content wise this is fine, with intelligent and well-written articles, but the layouts are a little shabby and the font size a bit large. If this problems are ironed out and more pages are added then this could be a great zine. (38 Melrose Street, Great Horton, Bradford BD7 3EW)

 

RIGSBY #10 (A5, 88pg, £1+SAE)

This is the first issue I've seen of Rigsby, and it's also gonna be the last cos Pete is stopping doing it. Shame, cos this is smart. Interviews with Cosmonks, Cause For Alarm, Vanilla Pod, Groovie Ghoulies and the Humpers, some very well reproduced photos, recipes, columns, top ten lists from loads of people, photocopying hints and tons more. This'll last many a trip to the bog (whether you choose to read it or wipe your arse with it, but I'd strongly recommend the former). Wish I'd ordered the earlier issues if they were all as good as this. (50 Hollingbury Rise, Brighton BN1 7HJ)

 

RUNNIN' FEART #4 (A5, 60pg, £1ppd)

This is another of those zines that improves with each issue. Looks good and is packed with reviews with (deep breath) Oi Polloi, Airbomb, Pink Kross, Sad Society, the Steampig, the Amphetameanies, 3D Scream, Trev HAGL, Trick Shot, Beergut 100 and Burning Boy. Although I'm not really into any of the bands or zines interviewed  they are all entertaining and interesting reading. But you know what would make this better? Columns! If they translated the madness that is evident in the reviews section into longer, more personal pieces then they'd make this good zine even better. (12 Crusader Crescent, Stewarton, Ayrshire KA3 3BI)

 

REAL OVERDOSE #19 (A5, 72pg, £1+SAE)

Once again the ever-productive Wolfie bangs out another copy of the best gosh-darn fanzine in the world (ever), and now with DTP layouts! But fear not readers, as the zine has still retained its manic appearance, it's just a bit cleaner and tidier. This one has the usual three hundred interviews (slight exaggeration), this time with Airbomb, Disgusteens, Dropnose, Goobers, Lagwagon, Mos Eisley, One Hit Wonder, Pansy Division, Penfold, Red Flag 77, Southpaw, Swoons, Vanilla Pod and Weaklings, plus news and columns and MWC and news and reviews and TV stuff and fiction and all the other crazed ramblings that make Real OD what it is. Essential reading, if you don't buy this regularly then you are a smellypants and I don't like you. (64 Chatsworth Drive, Rushmere Park, Ipswich IP4 5XD)

 

SCANNER #3 (A5, 52pg, £1+SAE)

Wow, two zines based in the same street! Just imagine if every street in the country had two people who wrote zines living there! How cool would that be?! Anyway, this zine is by Real OD columnist/Stunt Child's Steve B, and has chats with Destructos, Dropkick Murphys, LoveJunk, New Red Archives, TV Smith, Stomach and UK Subs, plus columns, reviews, millennium stuff, film stuff (including a piccie of the spider crawl scene that was cut from "The Exorcist" [which is finally out on video soon! Woo!]) and more. Neat layouts and a diverse selection of writings make this a zine that is well worth mailing off for. God knows how Steve manages to do this so regularly - he's done three issues in the time it's taken me to do one! (6 Chatsworth Drive, Rushmere Park, Ipswich IP4 5XA)

 

SHARKPOOL #2 (A5, 60pg, £1+SAE)

Tracey follows up her debut issue with yet another top read. I like Sharkpool cos it's not afraid to deviate from the norm - sure, all the standard zine features are there, but there's also loads more stuff, ranging from the silly (Punk Pictionary, Top 5 Ways To Irritate Miles Hunt) to the serious (the worrying "Did You Feel My Tits at the Lagwagon Gig"). There are also interviews with NUFAN, Gameface, Chris Chopper, Funbug (in the style of Blind Date!), Goof Riddance (an interesting chat with Russ about sexism in the punk scene), Dan Panic and some weird cult called the Church of Euthanasia. Chuck in a fun comic strip and some Garbage Pail Kids (I wish I hadn't thrown mine away!) and you have one fantastic zine. Can we have issue three soon, please?! (c/o Delerict Records, PO Box 208, Nottingham NG7 6EN)

 

STINKIE #5 (A4, 6pg, 2 loose stamps + SAE)

"Newsletter type-thing" from the purveyors of fine mail order videos, featuring a few reviews and stuff on Ozzfest, Raggity Anne, the Replacements (a band who, along with Husker Du, I keep meaning to check out but still haven't) and a column from someone called Sarah Kerr... send off for this and their mail order list but be warned - you're guaranteed to wanna buy waaaaay more videos than you can afford! (Top Flat, 1 Ryeland St, Shotton, Flints CH5 1DT)

 

SUSPECT DEVICE #31 (A5, 72pg, £1+SAE)

Why I Am Crap #341: Even though I have been reading zines for about 2 1/2 years, the first issue of Suspect Device I read was issue 30. But I've learned my lesson, and I'll certainly be picking up all future copies. I guess all you lot are already familiar with the neat'n'tidy cut'n'paste layouts, the cavalcade of class columnists, the David Stuart "supplement" (kinda), the bazillion-and-one reviews and the overwhelmingly positive attitude. Smart interviews too, with ol' Timmy Armstrong, Annalise, Minute Manifesto, Destructos and Babies 3. Like Real OD, this is one fine zine that'll keep you occupied for hours on end. In fact, the morning it arrived I decided to bunk off uni to read it. Gotta get my priorities straight, right? So don't be crap like I was and make sure you get hold of this zine regularly. Another issue due out soon (Tony Suspect must be the busiest guy in the world right now... his baby, the zine, his and Dave Stuart's forthcoming book - when does he sleep?!), so look out for it. (PO Box 295, Southampton SO17 1LW)

 

VISION ON #15 (A4, 40pg, free+39pSAE)

Hurrah, it's the new Vision On! This time around we are treated to interviews with Avail, The Tone, Servotron, Dickies, Stampin' Ground, Kodiak (RIP), Jets To Brazil, MTX and RFTC, plus loads of columns and reviews and even a piece on Steve's flirtations with TV stardom! My favourite part of Vision On is always the humorous reviews, BUT! I will again make the complaint that they should be in alphabetical order. "Stop being so fucking picky," you may scoff, but if the reviews WERE done alphabetically then there wouldn't be two reviews of the same CD like Kodiak (this issue) and Zoinks! (last issue). Despite this, Vision On is definitely one of my top three zines, and at the bargain price of fuck all you'd be a moron to miss it. (27 Springbank Croft, Holmfirth, West Yorks HD7 1LW)