Cast No Shadow

Drought index is high. Chili pepper index is low. Nine Inch Nails- David Bowie pairing is questionable. Welcome to another edition of the global-cyber view to your future. (Horrorscope intro p. 16)

Slack magazine no. 18 - the Two-Year Anniversary! issue
October 1995 (published 10.1.95)

Casting the seed of doubt as the Rangers win one, that's what the guy said. As Slack magazine matured it got slicker. It lost a lot of it's cut and paste aesthetic as I created my own magazine layout vocabulary built on years of reading rock mags, Playboys, art books, comic books, Entertainment Weekly, vintage Life mags and street newspapers. The Slack existed at this time among a great group of mid-nineties street zines including Snot, Sacred Cow, Avenue Player, and a young Artvoice. It was a heady time for all. Selling ads and drinking beer!

This time I choose to jump ahead to a really good issue of Slack. Eighteen issues in 2 years, and I think this particular one really shows Slack mania in full form. The cover is great and the layout within has reached a tight, pleasing balance. With a Halloween and Fall-filled issue (2 football stories by our illustrious staff writers: Bitter Boy and Strick), Slack no. 18 was subtitled "Buffalo's Best Reading Material" (says so right on the cover!). Included are ads by some of Buffalo's top movers in 1995 including: Concrete, Atomic, CowPok, New World Record (see cool ad below), Das Boot! and a couple ICONcerts. Looks like Cowpok will be the last man standing as NWR plans to shut its doors in less that 3 weeks from today!

Flashback: There is a concert ad that features "Just Announced: Green Day on Nov 8th" and I remember this show as the last free show I went to that was put on by ICONcerts . It was at the Niagara Falls Convention Center -- before it became the Casino-- and I was there. I was watching 13 year olds standing on their chairs, as their parents sat next to them quietly, chanting 'f--- you' with lead singer Billie Joe. Bizzare to say the least.

Anyway back to this Slack 2-yr Anniversary issue, highlights include:

Cheers: Many great record reviews with Scotty's Oasis music section cover story.
Jeers: My praise for (as time has told us) a weak Urge Overkill record, sorry kids.

Cheers: Dre's After Dark with a window into the club scene in Bflo -95, name-checking other cool zines at the time: Snot and Sacred Cow
Jeers: Seeing the Buffalo Nickel Lounge ad and remembering we never got paid for it!

Cheers: Bitter Boy bagging on "Couch Spuds and Their Football Passions"

"Grab your Zubazz & remotes and warm up your thumbs..."

Jeers: Too short Horrorscopes. These were comedy gold, I tell ya!

Lance Posner where are you?

Download it here: Slack no. 18, the Two-Year Anniversary Issue (3.4 Mg)

Don't forget these issues already up:
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue