Box Set

Wide Margins: An Exhibition of 'Zines and Self-Published Works from the Sublime to the Silly is currently on view at the WNY Book Arts Center. It runs from July 16-September 3, 2010 & includes hundreds of home-made, self-published works of literary and graphical self-expression. Zines were the blogs before the internet. They were made with typewriters, glue, scissors, tape, copy machines, old computers, press type, pencils, paper, markers, photos, stats, stickers and often staples.

Both my 1990-era pubs -- the Sign O' The Times (SOTT) and Slack Magazine, done by Wizard Graphics-- are highlighted in a glass display case. Thanks to WNYBA's Amy & Jessica for curating this super show. This is really a fine collection of hanging, stacked and piles & piles of literally a shit load of publications. Make sure you get down before Sept. 3 to check this show out- it is very cool!

I missed the opening reception as I was out of town, but I biked down the Saturday afternoon to check it out. I was pretty psyched to see the show. I took these snapshots -- heavy on the Wizard Graphics case -- for your viewing pleasure.

HELPFUL LINKS-
Facebook page- click. BuffaloSnooze preview- click. WNY Book Arts page- click. Slack Magazine online website.



The full Slack & SOTT case. Click on this image collage for big view....very nice. This display includes tee, Slacker in Space original comic art in stat & negative form, a poster, business card, watch, rubber stamp and original issues of SOTT and Slack Magazine.


Side view of full SOTT- Slack case- protected under glass!



Edits to Issue #1 of SOTT includes hand notes on laserprint proof.



Poster for Slack fundraiser at 3rd Room & one-of-a-kind original SLACK watch.


Various SLACK Magazines with Slack in Space comic by Don Keller.



SOTTs from 1991.



Zine case 01- colorful, fancy zines.


Zine case 2- very professional looking zine-age.


Hanging row of the great Duplex Planet zines.



More colorful Duplex Planets.



Hanging zines and tools (electric typewriter & 'pre-zine' print press).



Beer Frame- a classic from back in the day.


Artbabe!!



Stacks-o-Zines.



Event posters in WNYBAC window on the corner of Mohawk & Washington, Downtown Buffalo, NY.



Saturday morning, post opening party clean up.


BONUS BEATS- WNYBAC is a great addition to the Queen City -- they have been around for one year now. Please support this non-for-profit if you are a fan of the printed arts-- especially the antique hand-made, letter-pressed versions of book and all things printed. Become a member!

Start Choppin'

Born in the Summer of 1993, Slack Magazine flourished in Buffalo NY's underground Zine world alongside such luminaries as the Sacred Cow, Snot and The Avenue Player. Sputtering out in February '96 with one last great splash (The Beer Part II), Slack Magazine lived it's life for 20 issues and included slam-bang-gonzo journalism, reviews, ridicule, satire & early computer graphics littered with scans from borrowed postcards, magazines & newspaper clippings. Written and edited by some of Buffalo's greatest creatives (writers-DJs-photographers-drunkards) of the 1990s, Slack has finally dusted itself off & entered the digital age right here.

I gathered all the digital issue of Slack and posted them in it's very own URL at SlackMagazine.com Slack now lives in the digital age, enjoy this slice of Buffalo, NY 1993-1996.

Check it out, kids!

I'm Not Drunk, I'm Just Drinkin'

Beer has been good to me throughout the ages, from my trials as a young man sneaking beers from my Dad's basement to making friends over frosty mugs in my college days at The Pub located at Buff State (pre-prohibition days)....

Man, this issue was the peak and the demise- all in one! The last issue of Slack #20 was a bulky 20 pages, four more than then many of the previous 16-page issues. Capitalizing on the most popular of the Slack themes: Beer, this issue was a smash success! Unfortunately, it was also the final issue. It was the 1st issue actually offset printed-- all the previous issues were copy-shop produced. Actually printing it was a step to legitimizing the pub, but it turned out to be the final step. The cult closed its door and we stopped publishing the Summer of 1996-- Slack in Buffalo was dead. All told, Slack lived for 20 issues, 3 years (from August of 1993 to March of '96), two anniversaries, countless drunken adventures, parties, free CDs and records and a certain cache that made it a fondly remembered piece of Buffalo's history, the clubs, the concerts, the bars, the beers, the local music, the shops, the beers and loves and hates of the people of B-LO.

Slack no. 20, The Beer Issue, part II
Feb/March, 1996 (published 2-6-96)

Now you may have thought that the last issue, the Sci-Fi issue was a good one, and you may have really liked the first Beer Issue (April 1994) but this return to the beer theme really hit the nail on the head. This issue was the heart and soul of Slack. Now, I don't mean that because we drank a lot of beer while making this (I mean a REAL lot of beer) it is just that this issue is so tightly wrapped around the theme, it is just so sharp, it rocked!

Highlights include the:

> Second Annual SLACK Beer Taste Test-
Koch's Golden Anniversary vs. Genny Red vs. Schlitz vs. Hamm's- what a battle royale over a 2-page spread. The background, which came out a little too dark for my liking, was a photo of a beer can in the gutter on Chippewa Street.

> The 6th Annual Buffalo Beer Fest at the Convention Center-- a review of a night that ended up with a lot of Slack stickers being stuck on a lot of bar walls, people's backs and some cars. Juvenile delinquents, we are all (and quite drunk). The Beer Fests used to be quite drunken out of control events, they were like the '70s- a free-for-all of free beer, German Drinking Bands surrounded by mobs of happy, yet slightly unruly beer fans and free beer swag.

> New Beers That Didn't Make It-- including Stale Ale, Coffee Beer, Prozac Beer and the combination of two '80s beer trends: Dry Ice Beer.

> Great ads from Das Boot, Network, New World Record and Concrete (all long gone).

> The Cool Like Dat Music section had a great review of the P22 Temple of Music compilation of local Buffalo bands. This was put out by local font maven Rich Kegler's P22/Atom Smash and included (at the time, recently) ex-Goo George Tutuska's Hula. The art for this section included flatbed scanned sacrificed cassette tape. Still available online.

> A short but sweet review of the 'new' Iggy Pop record written by Doug McKee which was a one-liner: "Iggy's back to rockin, and that's good."

People are always asking me about Slack and starting it up again online. I thought getting all 20 issues up now, making them available to the world in PDF format, was a step in the right direction. Looking back, this was a great time for me learning to run my own business. However shoddy the Slack was run, we put together a great publication. We gathered writers, editors, photographers, Djs and advertisers and put this together, got it printed, distributed and did it again and again and again. I think the only reason I ever decided to go into business myself (besides working for 3 dot-coms that went belly up in 1999) was the Slack experience. I knew I could do it.

Anyway here it is linked below. Click and print. And below that are the archives of all 20 issues! All done. The past introduced to the future- for the kids. Ha.

Downlaod the final PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 20, the Beer issue, part II (6.1 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (one more to go, baby!):
Slack Magazine n. 19, The Sci-Fi Issue
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 17, The Local Radio Issue
Slack issue n. 16- The Summer Fun Issue (#2)
Slack Magazine n. 15, The Local Music Issue
Slack Magazine n. 14, The Cartoon Issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

I am not sure what will be next- should I put up the Slack predecessor,
The Sign O' The Times or try and relaunch Buffalo's first online magazine
the BuffaloPOST? We'll see I guess...

Shake Well Before Opening

"As a kid growing up in the '70s, I didn't want to be real life astronaut Neil Armstrong, but fictional space traveler Captain James T. Kirk. Kirk was bold, brash and he got all the chicks - even the green ones. Kirk got to fight aliens and even nazis... Armstrong just got to walk on the moon."
-- Editor's Desktop

It sucks to get fooled by the thaw. It sure looks like all the snow is going to melt, the birds are going to return and the sun is going to start shining. This, of course, is not true. It is only February 9th and, of course, this is Buffalo, New York. Spring is..... in reality, probably two months away. And, most likely, it will snow again, and be cold again, and not be Spring soon enough. Shit.

I grew up in this town, have lived my whole life in this town and with the exception of a few trips down south, I have never really left this town. You would think, I can get used to the cold and the snow. I smile bravely and proclaim to anyone who cares, and even those that do not, that, "I live in Buffalo by choice and damn it, I like this backass town". Am I crazy, perhaps. Am I too lazy too move? I don't really know.

When I was a kid, I thought by the time the future came streaking in-- which was the year 2000 and beyond-- we would be living in space. I thought for sure we would be zooming around in spaceship-like hovercrafts, eating food out of tubes and pills and lounging around in matching shirt and pants sets. I thought we would be playing 3-D chess like they did on the Enterprise. I thought we would be drinking Romulan Ale. I thought we be vacationing by simply traveling within our own minds, courtesy of a Holodeck-like, altered-reality, dream machine. Shit.

Slack issue #19- The Science Fiction Issue Dec/Jan 1996
(published 12.08.95)

The cover was modeled after the World Weekly News and announced the challenge: Capt. Picard vs. Capt. Kirk- Who Was the Baddest Captain?, Ten Reasons to See Star Wars Again and It's Cool To Be a Nerd. This was the second last issue of Slack and it is really full of some good stuff with a detailed Sci-Fi Movie Guide. 'Sci-Fi,' now this was a theme all the writers really embraced and gave it their all. Raisin Blowme's Building a Better Tomorrow: Star Trek Technology in Today's World looked at uses for Trek gadgetry in the world of 1996 including the Transporter, "Gridlock is eliminated by this mode of instantaneous travel. The downside is that Jehovah's Witnesses keep beaming into your living room." There is an interesting look at computers and their role in 1990's cybersex, as well as the casting of Star Wars- The Musical with Thurston Moore as Luke, Matthew Sweet as Hans Solo and the band Gwar playing the Sandpeople. Brilliant! How come this musical hasn't happened yet 13 years later?

There are some great record reviews including Black Grape, the first Chemical Brothers record (...setting the course for a new begining-beyond stale techno), and some local bands like Elk, Cotton Mouth, Saturn Battery and Lynn Rogers. This issue includes the usual suspects: Stick, Comix by Hump and a Bitter Boy rant on bad restaurant service. Speaking of bad restaurant service, there is an ad for Mojo's in this issue. This was the all-night diner which was on Chippewa and Delaware in the space which became the Kingsnake, which became a martini bar or taco joint or something which is in a hotel (now). This is the place I used to sometimes go after DJing at 4:00 AM, figuring the Towne was be too crowded (always best to get there by 3:00-3:30 AM or so). I would be the only one in the joint and had to still wait 45 minutes for simple eggs and homefries! What was wrong with that joint!

The Reasons Aliens Will Never Land in Buffalo (circa 1996):
10. We can't even get Barry Manilow to play here, why would they come.
09. Since there is no snow in space, aliens would fear Buffalo during the winter season.
08. Don't want to waste time turning residents into mindless drones (find they already exits, called 'football fans'!)
07. Afraid of Jeff Simon and his 'pact with the devil.'
06. Mayor (Masiello) would assume they were illegal aliens and expect them to work in his kitchen for free.
05. Zoning laws prevent intelligent life within city limits.
04. Some nights it seems none of the bars have Guiness Stout.
03. The toxic residue left by Carey Grey is still here* (*see issue #17, the Local Radio Issue).
02. Why bother; they also have Hooters restaurants where it is warm.
01. Anthony Violanti.

Accompanying Photo: An 'artist's recreation' of former Buffalo Bill Fred Smerlas happily greeting an extraterrestrial in Buffalo, NY. Photoshop magic, I tell you....

Downlaod PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 19, the Science Fiction issue (7.1 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (one more to go, baby!):
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 17, The Local Radio Issue
Slack issue n. 16- The Summer Fun Issue (#2)
Slack Magazine n. 15, The Local Music Issue
Slack Magazine n. 14, The Cartoon Issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

Something in The Way

"Comparing the jocks at the Planet and the Edge
with the on-air staff at CFNY
is akin to comparing Piel's beer with Sam Adams lager."
from "The Battle of The Alternative"
subtitled "Bumbling Into The Brave New Territory of The Dreaded 'A' Word... Alternative and The Battle For The Top of The Heap in Buffalo's New World of Alternative Radio"

"Remember, civil disobedience and
taking matters into your own hands can get you into trouble..."
Civil Disobedience, The DMV & Growing Hemp in the 90s
by Strick

It the guise of Kurt Cobain I am wearing 3 shirts and wool hat in the office tonight. In fact I have been running around in piles of clothes for weeks. I think today was the longest period of time in one day where I didn't have a hat on my head constantly- besides while sleeping of course (but don't think I haven't thought about it!). Oh, I think it was 5-1/2 hours, by the way. So yeah, it's cold as hell.

Slack issue #17- The Radio Issue August 1995
(published 06.09.95)

This is one of the last four issues of Slack. As this lumbering beast was approaching it's 2-year anniversary and the end of it's reign the following Spring, we kept driving with our eyes closed. I have been thinking about Kurt a lot lately as I have just finished reading a very tactile Cobain Unseen by Charles R. Cross and the weather has forced me to dress like him- layerly. This issue from Fall 1995 had a review of the new release by Dave Grohl's new band the Foo Fighters. Reviewer Doug McKee added, "By using a formula familiar to him, he (Dave Grohl) still might make a name for himself." Good prediction Doug!

This, the Radio Issue is full of Buffalo radio 1995- Toronto's CFNY versus everyone else including local station, The Planet with Kerry Grey (ick) and the birth of a new station 103.3, The Edge. It has a lot of anti-alternative rhetoric as the term 'alternative' was starting to get bandied about as the post-grudge, 90s suck-rock began to flutter onto the air waves. There's an article about specialized 90s radio stations (All Elvis Impersonators Radio), History of Rock and Roll Radio, and a cool club DJs perspective on radio DJs by Dre. More period piece record reviews include: Sleepy Eyed by Buffalo Tom, the self-titled Treble Charger LP (more Toronto boys) and another love-fest review for the 7th Ani sunnyDiFranco record, Not a Pretty Girl by me.

All and all there is a lot trashing of local radio in this issue, in 1995, and it doesn't seem like much has changed. Still no one listens to the radio to hear what's new anymore. The only radio I listen to is news, hockey, some BNY, or weird AM transmissions that sometimes sound like they are from another planet.. and they may be for all I know.

Final Note: The Comix by Hump (as seen below) asked the question that people still ask me: Who is Bitter Boy? Veteran Slack writers still think it was me, and as far as I know, there are only a handful of people who do know who he was/is. I can tell you it wasn't me, though strangely enough we have always possessed a lot of the same ill will in the past....

Download PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 17, the Radio Issue (3.5 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (2 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack issue n. 16- The Summer Fun Issue (#2)
Slack Magazine n. 15, The Local Music Issue
Slack Magazine n. 14, The Cartoon Issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

SPY In The House of Love

I am a lover of magazines, having published small 'zines (Sign O' The Times, Slack) in the 90s. Once, I was a sort of 'magazine junkie'- with simultaneous running subscriptions to about 6-7 magazines which included Playboy, Spin, Details, Entertainment Weekly, Metropolis, etc. Now I lean more towards the design mags (Print, How, etc) but I have recently been re-introduced to Rolling Stone and have been enjoying it. Though the new smaller format isn't as cool as the larger size it used to be.

They say that print is dead, and maybe I am a dinosaur but I love a good magazine- big photos, hot news, informative reporting, satire, satire, satire-- plus you can't read your computer in the bathroom (well, I guess you could use your laptop....). I think graphic design is better on the printed page, than the internet.

The good folks at Good Magazine have compiled an awesome list of the 51 Best Magazines Ever which is compiled as the Smartest, Prettiest, Coolest, Funniest, Most Influential, Most Necessary, Most Important, Most Essential, etc. The list includes the classics: Esquire, Playboy, New Yorker, Life, Interview but also includes some of the cool mags such as Ray Gun, Eros and even Mad!

From the Good Magazine article:

"The essential strength of a magazine is its ability to amplify. An idea, or an image, or a story, set within the pages of a magazine and assembled by the right hands, can become the grist of breakfast chatter, dinner-party conversation, or elective body debate around the world."

Here is the list with full details on each,The 51 Best* Magazines Ever
*Smartest, Prettiest, Coolest, Funniest, Most Influential, Most Necessary, Most Important, Most Essential, etc. Words By Graydon Carter, GOOD magazine

There Was a Time

Great ideas, like pizza and bar-b-que wings, always arrive in the nick of time.
Cancer's Horrorscope June 1995

Well as the holiday comes barreling in like an Axl Rose cat howl (I promise, I'll get off the GnR kick...), I am trying a new approach from my usual 'holiday duck and cover'. I am actively trying to shop NOW instead of at the last minute. Not always successful (I bought myself 2 presents already...), I am really trying to embrace the season. Today's December Rain (Sorry, again...) has put a bit a damper of the brief snow dropping we received over the weekend. Yesterday it was 20 something degree-- as I type this, it is forty-freakin-seven degrees! Weird, for sure. But we got some of the holiday decorations up, some lights strung inside and the evergreen tree will be bringing the outdoors in in matter of days. The kids love the holiday, so it is tough to be my usual scroogey self.

So then, what better way to 'salebrate' the holidays? A Summer Slack! You know when it's snowy, ya get nostalgic for the Summer and visa-versa. So I give you:

Slack issue #16- The Summer Fun Issue (#2) June 1995
(published 06.09.95)

Like the mysterious photo below of the 3 great record stores that once graced Elmwood Avenue that are no longer around, this issue of Slack signaled a riff in the time space continuum. There was a 6-month gap between issue #15 and this one and the signal of the end drawing near was starting to be heard. There was going to be four more issues after this one, stretching out until March 1996, the following year.

But anyway... this issue has some good writing in it, strangely overwhelmed by ads, which was never a thing with the Slack. The advertising, in truth, barely paid the printing bills as I was spending my own cash at the copy store often. But the kids trudged on, drank beer and reveled in being different, eh? Square Pegs (thank you Waitresses), misfits, outcasts, weirdos, smokers, heavy drinkers, all of ya... well you get the picture.

The Summer issue includes a boxy photo essay of Elmwood Avenue, which looks in these photos, exactly like it does today with the Poster Art, the 24 Store, the Elmwood Lounge (mentioning Lance), and the Towne Restaurant. In fact, the only businesses referenced that have gone missing are the 3 records stores-- and it is a crying shame. RIP- Home of the Hits, the old NWR up by Utica and the Apollo Records, where I bought a lot of my hip-hop 12"s that I am still playing today. Paid in Full- Six Minutes of Madness, anyone....?

This issue includes the start of a new Slacker in Space (which we never got to see the end of 4 issues later), a Raisin Blowme story on Drive-Ins, a Tony B Grateful Dead Summer Vacation story and some Bitter Boy Summer in Buffalo Tips. The Cool Like Dat music section features a big story on the Scott Carpenter and The Real McCoys 2AM Tragedy record-- the band maybe at its high point?, the 1st Tricky LP, and a Scotty piece on local space-rockers Spawn.

Another interesting thing in this issue is ad for the Friendship Festival 4-day rock-n-roll show put on by ICONcerts featuring a stunning who's who in 1995 Canadian rock. And believe you me, there was a time, mmmm around 1995 I believe, when the Canucks up North supplied this fair Queen City which a good dose of musical talent. A time when CFNY gave us all we needed. I am not kidding. Days 3 and 4 of this 4-day rock fest included 26 mostly Canadian bands- a few that you might remember: Barenaked Ladies, Moxy Fruvus, The Waltons, the Wild Strawberries, Rheostatics, 54-40, The Watchmen, I Mother Earth, Pure, Odds, The Gandharvas, the Tea Party, hHead, Headstone and click on the ad (to the right -->) for a full page version to see for yourself. Meanwhile the US contributed day 2 with Ted Nugent and Bad Company. I should mock them, right? I have been listening to GnR for days, what is wrong with me?!?!

Download PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 16, the Summer Issue (4.1 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (3 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 15, The Local Music Issue
Slack Magazine n. 14, The Cartoon Issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

Train Kept a Rollin'

Even a year ago, there were more places to play...
the South Loft.. The Icon was still open.
That sucked- The Icon closing sucked.
Justin Chapman, guitarist and vocalist for milf
who never predicted his bands name would become a pornographic phenomenon 15 year later

The best thing about reading the Slash book was it got me listening to some old Aerosmith and I have been thoroughly enjoying Rocks and Get Your Wings which I duped off scratchy vinyl. Those Boston boys were good back in the heyday of substance abuse and 1973! Hootchy Koo! Last Child, man what a song... and Lord of The Thighs, Women of the World, Train Kept a Rollin'..... man, oh man, it just keep going. I have to keep getting up to turn the music louder and then turn it down a few minutes later 'cause it is too loud.

Oh that rock and roll sure is a tortuous mistress.

Speaking of rock music... here's one for ya:
Slack issue #15- The Local Music Issue Jan. 1995
(published 01.12.95)

This issue of Slack, is by far, my favorite with the perspective of time. Published in Jan 1995, the Slack Local Music issue features details on over 75 Buffalo bands and is labeled a "Collector's Edition." That was a good prediction, I was right! The Slack team gathered info on bands by leaving piles of questionnaire postcards around town, record stores, bars, music venues, etc. and did a lot of research. Over the next few months the postcards started to roll in and I personally interviewed a few dozen bands as did our writers. I think it was (and is) a really good snapshot of the music scene in Buffalo circa January 1995. And the Dan (Young Jeezy) Cappellazzo cover shot of the Steam Donkeys in front of the Mohawk place is priceless! Great cover.

Highlights (too many to mention) include:

• 1994's Slacker of the Year- Buffalo News music writer Tony Violanti by Tony Billoni
  
• Being in a Buffalo Band by Steam Donkey Charlie Quill
• Great Records Form Local Music History by Elmer Ploetz which includes: Headhunters "1st Things 1st", Splat Cats "5 Big Ones," and Goo Goo Dolls "Jed"... oh the Goo old days....
• Strick's Advice on Audio Purchases From a Guy From The Inside

Of all the bands profiled, I think I counted 8 still in service? I may be wrong and I am sure someone else will review this and correct me. Kevin?

• Fibs
• Goo Goo Dolls
• Ani SunnyD Franco
• Lance Diamond (the Energizer Bunny of Buffalo)
• Steam Donkeys
• Wolf Tickets
• Glenn Colton

Man, what ever happened to Economy Sexless Torso, Maunder Butterfly, The Razzels, Spawn, Splaterpunkx and Snufflufugus? Other cool band asides include "Several Seconds With Spawn" where they members act confused when asked about Eddie Vedder, a few questions with Justin Chapman of milf and Mark Norris on Girlpope and locally owned (and new at the time) P22 Records.

Another interesting note is the inclusion of Big Happy Family who didn't have a record listed yet. That soon to be CD by BHF was recorded in the barn that I sit in as I type this post. Our design studio (252 Lex) used to be the band practice/recording studio of Bob James and BHF was his band. Time zones are a colliding as I write this.

Print this out for yourself and read it thoroughly. Sit back, crack a Blue and throw in that old cassette by Dick's Hatband or Crawlspace or even Kama Sutra (I am just name dropping now).

Download PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 15, the Local Music Issue (4.8 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (5 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 14, The Cartoon Issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue

BONUS BEATS- Big hair Guns n' Roses- Welcome to the Jungle early MTV video, weird. Why such a big hat? Why such big hair?

Flying High in The Brooklyn Sky

I work in the electronics department of a fine local department store. My days are filled with "May I help you sir?" and the ever-popular "Thank you and have a nice day." I love my job. The hours fit my rock-n-roll lifestyle, the money is decent and I can share my vast knowledge of music with the general public, whether they deserve it or not.
excerpt from "MUZAK: Delightful Sounds or a New Voice of a Generation?" Strick's Corner

Slack issue #14- The Cartoon Issue" Dec. 1994
(published 11.23.94)

Today I'm standing on my corner listening to the Mission of Burma instrumental track "All World Cowboy Romance." It's a warm Fall day, the leaves are turning colors, the sun is shining and the breeze is light. I have on my I-probe music player and I am waiting for my daughter's bus. The drums rush over and under like water and I can really concentrate on the ebbs and flow of the the song since I am just standing there... Man, it doesn't get any better that this for a Wednesday afternoon. How often do you just get to stand there? The bus can be a little late and I won't mind today.

When the bus arrives and the kids get home the 1st thing they want to do is watch TV.... man, did I watch a lot of TV when I was a kid....

Slack numero 14, the issue devoted to comics and cartoons is a sensational mag with a crappy cover. Though one of the bullet points on the cover promotes:

• Typos (sorry...)

That text right over the Duck Dogers cover photo is painfully wrong. Though maybe I did that on purpose-- bad design for good reasons was creeping into my mind at the time. The thing is, the rest of the issues has some great, tight layout and the 'cartoons' theme was much appreciated by the staff. Articles include Cartoon Characters Posing As Real People (Michael Jackson, Ollie North, Rush Limbaugh, the Royal Family and Jesse Helms- hello, again 1994), Raisin Blowme's Welcome To My My Cartoon Life, Homer Simpson, My Hero by Dave Koch and this list of Cartoon and Comics Top Slackers:

• Bugs Bunny
• Road Runner
• Fred Flinstone and Barney Rubble
• George Jetson
• Pink Panther
• Snoopy
• Dagwood
• Beetle Baily
• Shaggy
• Jughead
• Daffy Duck
• Zonker
• Andy Capp
• Calvin (of "& Hobbs")
• Wimpy
• Ren and Stimpy
• Beavis and Butthead
• Homer J. Simpson

True slackers, all of them... it makes you start to realize all the Warner Brothers stars were some serious slackers! Some advertisements of note in this issues #14 include ads for Yeast West Bakery, a coming soon Concrete Cafe (it opened in Dec. 94), and the only Slack ad I have ever censored: the Das Boot condom man ad. I covered the lube tip of condom man's condom head and Bob at Das Boot was mad at me. Andre and I discussed it ... and well, we were all worried that it would get us in some sort of trouble or the scant few other advertisers wouldn't like it.. or the shops and bars would pull them from the shleves (and from the top of cigarette machines)... Oh, I don't know!?!?! What the hell? it all seems so stupid now, but this act enabled Das Boot to run that OJ ad without us even saying 'boo' later on down the road....

Download PDF here:
Slack Magazine n. 14, the Cartoon Issue (6.2 mg)

Don't forget these issues already up (6 more to go)!:
Slack Magazine n. 18, The Two-Year Anniversary! issue
Slack Magazine n. 13, The Food & Beverage Issue
Slack Magazine n. 12, The One-Year Anniversary Issue
Slack Magazine n. 11, The True Crime Issue
Slack Magazine n. 10, Summer Fun Issue
Slack Magazine n. 9, The Dead Rock Stars Issue
Slack Magazine n. 8, The Beer Issue
Slack Magazine n. 7, Slack Goes to The Movies Issue
Slack Magazine n. 6, The Buffalo Issue
Slack Magazine n.5, The Slack TV Issue
Slack Magazine n. 4, SEX in the '90s Issue
Slack Magazine n. 3, The Politico Issue
Slack Magazine n. 2, The Travel Issue
Slack Magazine n. 1, The Debut Issue