Hardcore Wrestling Fanzine - (1986)

I already wrote a ton about this hardcore wrestling fanzine here. Hardcore Wrestling is an actual literal paper fanzine from 1986 by Bob Mould, Dave Hintz, and more 80's punk dudes. As a special flag day treat, I've scanned it and decided to upload it as a PDF since I'm pretty sure this thing is long out of print. Wanna read people bitching about Vince McMahon Jr. 30 years ago? Enjoy! 


Dropbox link to a PDF version of Hardcore Wrestling HERE. 

European Vacation I: Hashtag Hardcore #3 + "Mind Over Matter"

#Hardcore #3 + Mind Over Matter Fanzine (Netherlands)
My life's "European vacation" was a 5 year tour of duty of living in the UK (Cardiff Wales) while my Dad worked for a chemical company. I saw much of Europe, but was also elementary school age so I spent most of my time drawing and complaining, sidestepping the grand cultural awakening my parents somehow convinced themselves I'd get. Nowadays, I'm just pilfering their fanzines. 

By my estimation, #Hardcore is in the uppermost echelon of the current fanzine hierarchy. For straight up interesting reading, phenomenal layouts and for a guy genuinely trying to document the state of hardcore past n' present in a coherent printed publication (that means multi-trips to the shitter), all done cut n' paste and replete with show, record and fanzine reviews (even notable shout outs to the Drug Dogs Newsletters, positive reviews which in no way have any bearing on how I perceive this zine...), Daan is your man. 

Structurally, it's a "zine within a zine" setup, with the inner zine being Mind Over Matter (officially, I think it's from Belgium). It replicates those "pull out" zines of times past. M.O.M runs a little more straight forward than its parents publications with the best bit definitely being an interview with Jordan Posner of No Warning. ("At one point we had Dijan, Henderson and Porter all in the studio. We were saying to each other 'OK, Madball, Breakdown, and Floorpunch are all helping with our record.' We were tripping.") As a product of early 00's hardcore (and also a critic of the underwhelming Ill Blood doc they made a few years back) I got a lot out of this interview. I only got to see No Warning well beyond their prime, in the thick of their Suffer Survive years, with Fear Factory at a club called Jillian's in Louisville. 

Furthermore, since I don't really know a TON about euro hardcore (save for the surface stuff, Rise & Fall and that back in the day americans used to rip them off via mailorder a lot, hopefully the internet and paypal has democratized all that?) I actually use these inky things to learn a thing or two about the scenes. At this point, I really want the errata of Europe. Who are their Rick Ta Life's?  For that, I got a riotous jolly off the discussion of a band called 36 Karat, described as "Belgian Ghetto Metal." Oh, and some True Blue stuff for those lookin' to get a little halloweeny off the chilly Icemen vibes.

This is GHETTO METAL

Back to the "exo" zine though. I love that I can legitimately disagree with Daan so vehemently about bands (Dude definitely backs Warhound, I definitely do not), but still think  he's got one of the premiere fanzines in the "biz." Yeah, I think it's weird that hentai and tentacle porn got referenced seriously in the Cornered interview (but then again, #2 went into pretty detailed specifics about Thai prostitutes and STD's in the Kickback interview) but love that I'm not just reading "JR plays bass, Dickweed sings, Dumpwood stole a drumkit and me? I just sing about life maaaan." All that runs through conversations with some cool core (Stick Together, DiE and Redemption Denied if you can fuck with a band that uses a graffiti logo...some can't).

BRAINWAVE

I'd be most remiss to not mention the Integrity piece here though because it's the thing of absolute beauty. Three full pages of collected ephemera, (fanzine interviews and record spotlights) meticulously curated and ordered to create a beautiful fan-made pastiche of a band in their prime (much like this fan-made documentary about Sabu.) 

For original content, phenomenal layouts and all-around comprehensiveness, you'll be hard up to find anything better than this one right here. Here's to many more! 

Drowning in envy

(You can no longer) BUY THIS FANZINE HERE (because it is sold out. Sorry Bunky). 

Pro Wrestling Fanzine Report #1 (AKA WrassleRags #1)

Most of the literate core-folk reading this blog know the importance and history of the printed paper zine. These handmade, hand-laid tomes dug beneath the proverbial surface, dissecting events and obsessively laying out these "left-of-the-dial" discoveries for other, like-minded fans to bond over along with traded tapes and programs. What many likely don't know is that this hybrid form of art and journalism has been used to keep numerous cultural communities in communication with each other from the days of Shatner Star Trek fandom clear down to fans of Man-U and even pro wrestling.

Perhaps no other sport* boasts a fan base more ripe for socio-cultural discussion than that of pro wrestling, a once-heavily protected industry that still boasts an "inside-secret" on par with Santa Claus and god (where were you when you first found out it was all pre-determined? I'd just seen Wrestling with Shadows on VHS). 

Many wrestling fans, writers and promoters kept up with each other, and their beloved subculture, via printed newsletters (or "dirt sheets") which meticulously recorded match and event listings in their local municipalities, as well as their own "shoot" (i.e. "real life") opinions on wrestlers, news items and the industry at large. A few of these sheets have become bonafide pro wrestling staples, still cited and subscribed by the vast majority of the wrestling fan base today.

However, in an era when most, if not all, wrestling news is disseminated via the internet (not 6 months ago, I saw my local 7-Eleven stop carrying WWE Print Magazine on its shelf) there's something to be said of anyone still continuing to produce wrestling content on paper, and charging people money for it (god bless 'em. Really). Here's my take on a few current gems in the wrestling fanzine world, as well as one very cool blast from the past.

"Ya know what makes me sick besides....EVERYTHING?"

1. The Atomic Elbow #10 (2014)
Essentially, the reigning HW champ of U.S. wrestling paperzines. (IC award goes to the UK's Calling Spots fanzine). This one's printed on glorious green with Road Warrior Hawk proudly displaying an airbrushed Weasal Slappers tee. This ish featured more contributions than normal, this author's favorites being Villainous: a Tribute to William Regal and Scott T. Holland's Nitro in Chicago piece (an excellent, if not a slightly depressing, bizarro counterpoint to the Raw in Chicago piece which literally dissects each and every taping of Monday Nitro in the Windy City):

"With RAW, the book remains unfinished, as WWE keeps chugging along, returning several times a year for major events. But the final chapter has been written on WCW, so there will be nothing to add to this story. It's a sad conclusion, but at least I don't have to watch any more garbage for the sake of this essay." -Scott T. Holland

Always a grand mix of insightful wrestling commentary, art (the Jim Cornette illustration in the back and selections from Box Brown's Andre the Giant comic) and nostalgia-mining, The Atomic Elbow IS America's wrestling fanzine. They're almost up to 12 issues and don't show signs of slowing down. Get on it now before they're gone forever because (per his blog) I don't think they're putting out another compilation book.

The Villains

Buy Atomic elbow back-issues and even a GD tee-shirt, here. 
Scott T. Holland's Twitter is definitely worth following too. (@StarofSavage)
Stay up on the Atomic Elbow (and other great fanzines) via their Twitter: @secondperiod 

Twin Cities

2. The Soda Killers #2 (2014)
The Soda Killers isn't a wrestling zine necessarily (but it does begin the zine by quoting Lance Storm and does feature Verne Gagne prominently in the centerfold, along with other famous Minnesotans), but features plenty of wrestling content and comes from the land of the AWA so I'm into it. I got this in a trade with a friend I made on Twitter and think these zines are just great. Quality way over quantity with tons of music reviews (mostly hip-hop here, which is cool for a paperzine) and awesome live reviews from seeing Poison, Anthrax, Death Angel, Anthrax, The Dwarves, Swans, tons more) Make this half-sizer feel really substantial. Dude sent me a ton of cool ones which will find their way into the rotation. Worth price of admission for the incisive commentary on old thrash metal egos.

"Question: if it's warm enough for cargo shorts, can it also be cold enough for a leather jacket? I ask because this particular combo seems to be the sartorial preference of many in attendance this evening. Also, what purpose does a sleeveless jean jacket serve anyway?" -The Soda Killers #2 [individual author unknown].

For your own, I highly suggest emailing: bnb@hotdogdayz.com
or doing it the way I did, and making friends with OMNOB on Twitter. (@OMG_NOB) 

How about: Berne Ganja? The fictional AWA champ who just couldn't ever pass those pee-pee tests? (joke credit: my buddy Kyle)

3. Hardcore Wrestling - Premiere Issue (1985)

Here's my granddaddy catch though, a find via Ebay for a paltry $8 (that's like 1/6 of the last TNA PPV too). I think by this point, most know Bob Mould's involvement in the pro wrestling business (for those who don't: well post-Husker Du and on a hiatus from Sugar, Mould was a writer during one of WCW's darkest eras. You can read about that in his new book, wherein he reveals himself himself to be one of the only members of Earth's populace to not completely despise Kevin Nash.)

True to the cover's word, this fanzine was produced by Mould and Dave Hintz (Toxic Reasons) rounding up some of his buddies from the equally colorful world of 80's punk and hardcore including some of this author's favorites (a wrestling book review by Josh Barker of Rest in Pieces) and some lesser knowns (was Stretch Marks ever on an Agnostic Front flyer, or am I thinking of a band called Balls?) all round out the 1985 version of what Ride the Fury fanzine could be, but isn't quite. 

Immediately, I'm struck by the old typewriter layouts, the cartoon illustrations, the *literal* dirt sheet content and the high-contrast photos...but with the suspension of nostalgia and disbelief, I can also see that Hardcore Wrestling #1 is a fascinating relic from a pre-internet time that highlights 3 essential, undying, facts:

1. Wrestling fans have always, and will continue, to suggest to the world that they all suffer from low-grade forms of autism.
2. The WWE (WWF in 1985) has always been empowered by its detractors
3. Hardcore/punk will always provide an ample cross-section of professional wrestling fans, no matter the "era." I wonder if WWE marketing team acknowledges this?

Were it left entirely up to me, I'd probably just scan this whole thing in, page by page and just be like "see how incredible this is?" but as a "serious journalist" I'm inclined to only feed you pieces of the info and somehow encourage you to try and find this thing on your own. Here's a few of my favorite bits throughout the zine:

• The bold proclamation at the beginning of the zine that this is the first United States coreman-wrestling zine, taking up the torch that Canada's Piledriver fanzine first lit. 
• Weird, paranoid, and oddly prophetic musings on the WWF, made all the more interesting based on the fact that 100% of the editorial staff make up "outside territories" that the WWF would mine for talent (AWA in MPLS, NWA Territories down south, Canadian territories, etc.). Also, at this point, WWF had only successfully pulled off one Wrestlemania (to great success) and had managed to raise the eyebrows of everyone in the industry who were now watching their every subsequent move.
• Bill Stretch (of the aforementioned Stretch Marks) ruminating on the then-recent 20/20 piece "Pro Wrestling: Exposed!" episode which had just aired, citing all particpants (Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon and David Schultz) as "fake. 
• Richard Sheir giving the history of professional wrestling, from the 1950's down and an elaboration on Gorgeous George. The piece ends with the line: Richard Sheir may very well be the only person to attend both Woodstock and the Sex Pistols at Winterland.
• Actual dirt sheets and scene reports given for various promotions and territories around the country by writers and for fans who legitimately had no other access to this information.
• Tyler Davis from Lynchburg Virginia talks some major shit on Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan and of course Mr. T's involvement in the next Wrestlemania event. 
• Ruminations from Barry Stepe (Caustic Defiance) as to wether it's ok to foster anti-Russian sentiment via pro wrestling storylines and why open-hand slaps should be eliminated outright.

That's certainly not all here, but if I wrote out too much more you'd likely not seek it out for yourself. For slightly more online info, consult the only listing I ever found for this zine here. 

If you've got a zine, or no where I can track down more pro wrestling-centric fanzines, please get in touch here or at drugdogszine@gmail.com

Ancient Heads (Indulgent Writing about Hardcore #1)

Ancient Heads - For My Brothers

Though an unapologetic yank thru n’ thru, I did a brief tour of childhood duty in the rainy climes of the United Kingdom (‘92-97) while my Dad worked for the Dow Chemical company. It’s a great place, birthed Black Sabbath and the Stones, but for summer fun? Not really my glass of Shloer.

That’s why the concept of summer jams always sikes me. See, back in those days, when the sun seemed to retreat behind grey whitewash for 14 waking hours of the day, when ‘Blue Peter’ and ‘The Big Breakfast’ tried (and failed) to wet my whistle and most brit cuisine turned my yankee stomach into a quivering hunk o’ gelatinous goop (no offense, but seriously...what the fuck is up with Bisto gravy?), it was my Dad’s collection of tapes and records that buoyed the sunshine up in my soul, a meaty connection ‘tween dumbing power chords and sunny midwestern shores. Ramones “Too Tough to Die,” Blue Oyster Cult “Some Enchanted Evening,” Alice Cooper “Billion Dollar Babies,” may incite the disaffected journos to talk of “punk” and “prog” and “shock” and other meaningless buzz-words, but for me? That shit sounds like the breezy swing of summer fun.

So, when Ancient Heads, a band who really doesn’t sound like any of the aforementioned, releases a tape of three summer jams, I’m immediately transported back to that wide eyed time when shit seemed so important, and some song seemed to punctuate every facet of my life. Per Matt Laforge, this triple serving of AH delights is the band’s most ‘Floorpunch-esque offering to date’ and I can’t help but agree.

Short, punchy and nary a second spent hemming and/or hawing around the point, For My Brothers makes for essential [summer] core without resorting to goofy Tumblr tomfoolery like cartoon drawings of wigger cats in sunglasses or moshing burritos or whatever wannabe LOC bands from Florida are schlepping.  “For my Brothers” is a perfect opener, gang chant in effect, while “Fight Back”’s clarion declaration that “WHAT DOESN’T KILL ME ONLY MAKES ME STRONGER” mean that this here’s a cassette you can/should listen to while driving your broken down Camry with windows rolled down, stopping only occasionally to pelt the odd simpleton with a water balloon and maybe skank around your car at a red light.

Summer, if you’ve learned nothing from  Spicoli, Ringwold and the other cretins of Reagan-American cinema, is a time of pregnant possibility. A time of forging love and friendships, of taking trips and of whittling away long pointless hours in pursuit of cheap grub and/or a place to chill...and though some of us have had to trade swimming pools and cut-offs for desk jobs and stock options, it’s these little rippers, solid bursts of unrequited, unabashed truth n’ mosh, which draw me back into this “thing.” The core is relevant to all seasons, but I’d like to think it’s somehow more alive in the sweltering days from Mid June-Late Sept. If for nothing else, this lil’ one-two-three is an honest reminder of everything I love about the core: short, fast, loud and CATCHY. Maybe summer for you means listening to Sublime and having to visit your girlfriend’s parents or some shit, and that’s fine...but throw this one on a few times, let the tunes grab you by your lapels and fuck you up with some serious truth.

***This issue of indulgent writing about hardcore was originally printed in Mosher's Delight fanzine and written by Dylan Chadwick***

The Abused + Edgegazer Fanzine + : Weekly Seizure 11.8.13

Greetings goofballs. Got some GREAT gear in this week. Still burning through some tapes and zines, but these are the ones I'm gonna focus on for the here and now. Also, not that it matters, but I tried listening to Unbroken this week and it still didn't do much for me. Now you know.

EDGE GAZE-AHHH BITCH PLEAZAH

1) Edge Gazer Fanzine
Edge Gazer is a visually impressive fanzine done by a younger coreman (with some serious photography chops) down in Texas. I dig his enthusiasm for newer core, and overall enjoyed the zine. I know there was a little bit of balking at the steep price, but in the end I figured it'd be worth it and I'm not disappointed.

BRICK CITY

This is probably the most coverage I've ever seen given to Life of Reilly so that was cool. I dug the reflection on Free Spirit as I too am bummed about the record that didn't materialize out of that awesome promo tape last year. The definite highlight for me was the Chris Corry interview (interesting nuggs about Stop & Think, WW4 and the Pain Cave). The Intent layout rules (See above). My only gripe comes with the reviews...and I know, after all the time I spend complaining about how zines never have reviews I should probably shut my yap, but hear me out. I like that they're long and heartfelt, I just think the verbiage is a little convoluted and hard to understand. Generally though it's a good read and an impressive first effort. Really impressive. I got mine straight from the source, but you can save a few bucks if you get them from Mosher's Delight here.

JUST ANOTHER FOOL

2) The Abused - Loud and Clear Reissue
I'm not gonna "review" this record because you should have heard it already. Bonafide NYHC gem. Guitar tone, riffs, art, the total package. I used that old anecdote about how these dudes got into hardcore because they stole a car and found a Minor Threat cassette in the tape deck to open up a paper in college and my professor seemed horrified. Anyway, in terms of the re-ish, this is one of the best I've seen. Super extensive booklet filled with flyers, setlists, photos and a sticker sheet. Side A has the original record on it along with a live version of "Police Reign" and side B has the demo tape on it.

To steal an exchange I had with my Oz-Barney brother BSN: "The spiciest of the reissue meatballs." If only that half-assed Krakdown reissue on State of Mind would've looked this good...

Radio Raheem is sold out for now, but there's another press coming mid-December.

In Effect Fanzine (Logo Power #5)

RE-BOOT? LOL

Another one taken from In Effect Fazine. It was a forward-thinking article about "HARDCORE ON THE NET."

Token Entry Buttcheek (Logo Power #4)

PINK THINGS?

This was taken from In Effect Fanzine #11. It appears to be some sort of alien skinhead, completely naked except for a pair of Doc Marten boots, a tribal-ish tattoo on his right arm and the Token Entry logo tattooed onto his left ass-cheek. It speaks for itself really.

Gratitude Fanzine #1 + Ride the Fury #3 (Weekly Seizure - 11.24.13)

I got to live out a middle school obsession and see Monster Magnet this week. If you happen to be a fan of the Magnet, get in touch. I'm thinking about starting a usenet forum. This week I got a few zines, namely Edgegazer and Gratitude, and the ever growing stack on my desk of things to review just keeps getting less and less tamed.

1) Ride the Fury - Pro Wrestling Zine #3

I caught this one on the last go-around and liked it enough to order again. Many of you already know I'm a wrasslin' fan across the board, and I'm glad that there's some ink being dedicated to the similarities between the cultures. I'm also prone to buy things which have "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan on them.

USA! USA!

The zine also came with a homemade Ring of Honor DVD which I haven't watched yet, but is from a good era of that promotion. I'm stoked on this zine but have a few gripes. There's some really great purely wrestling zines right now (Atomic Elbow here in the states, and Calling Spots in the UK). The layout is a little too "indesign" ish, to the point where the interview with Jam of Code Orange Kids is almost unreadable due to weird spacing errors. However, it saves itself with a few gems. One being an interview with Tom Sheehan in which he tells a story about Indecision touring with Milhouse and Silent Majority and how they gave a shirt to Perry Saturn at a rest stop. I'm also a big fan of the question "If your parents said you could bring back one wrestler who passed away to come back to life to eat Thankgiving with you, who would it be?" Bummed no one said "Ravishing" Rick Rude though. That's my answer, no question.

Nope, that ain't NYC Mayhem-era Tommy Carrol. RIP Brother

Overall, it's sick, the DVD is a nice flourish and I loved issue 2. The fuzzy layouts may seem like a persnickety gripe, but my eyes suck and it was kind of a stumbling block here. Much respect to the back cover image though, a full on HBK tribute mural.

Barbershop Window

DVD's, zines, demos and anything else related to Ride the Fury records (including the above reviewed zine) at their bigcartel. 

2. Gratitude #1

I don't feel even remotely hyperbolic by calling this the best zine of 2013. As a means of disclosure, I actually contributed the Rampage centerfold, but my bias isn't any issue. Gratitude takes after the zenith-era of brilliantly written core culture zines Lockin Out #1 Fanzine and Trumbull Escapades. These zines were insular, obsessive and academic in ways few other zines were, and at times even genius. I won't sell this one that hard. You're either into the aforementioned zines and therefore 'get it' or you don't. I am going to leave this, my favorite quote in the entire zine because it absolutely articulates my position on Metallica better than anything I've ever managed to pen...and i wrote an entire 60-page senior capstone project on them in college. (Not a joke:

What's cool about Metallica is: everything. I revel in seeing them bum people out by doing things they sincerely think are great. Sometimes I don't even know if what they're doing IS great, there's just too much history there for me to make heads or tails of it. The world's finest authors couldn't make up a character like Lars Ulrich if it was their life opus - the closest we have is Pete Campbell from Mad Men. God bless them both. --Leah Geragosian (@diahleah)

Top notch content and contributors, excellent art, footnotes (!) and the best Free Spirit interview I've ever read. There's a few of them here at the Mosher's Delight bigcartel. Get on the right wagon, bunko. 

Me and the dog will show you who's hard

Neutral Accents Fanzine (Weekly Seizure - 11.17.13)

Filthy Lucre

Greetings, groin grabbers. Got a huge order of things to read and listen this week, coming in from all corners of the world (see above). Great stuff. Particularly chuffed over The Flex Live at Mongrel fest tape, courtesy of my euro friend Fabian.

Fly the flag

1) Neutral Accents #5
I'd be remiss not to mention my favorite fanzine in America, Neutral Accents, and I recently snagged #5. 

I basically put Neutral Accents in the same camp as those "lad culture" mags (Think Loaded) that popped up in the UK throughout the 90's. They were mags which glorified a culture more than anything else, vying for the ribald interests of the modern English male through slick coverage sex, drugs, rock n' roll and copious amounts of SOCCER (erm...football). Perhaps NxA is the calloused, cynical and wholly depraved successor to these magazines, feverishly scraping into the corners of the modern male psyche. Pornographic illustrations, old rock n' roll, selective amounts of hardcore (none o' that B9 nonsense) and a series of film reviews (Grim Cinema) that rivals anything "The Academy" could put together makes it, in my opinion, the best fanzine in America. 

One for the freaks. For the rockers. For the knuckleheads who have Think I Care next to Thin Lizzy in their iTunes. 

#5 comes out swingin' with my favorite back cover image of all time (see above), a great interview with Hoxton Tom McCourt, "Captain Drack" (great raunchy comic about a Duke Nukem type with a mean streak), a guide to home brewing and an always great Grim Cinema section (side note: the review of Only God Forgives was so good, it convinced my girlfriend to rent it at Redbox. Thanks Neutral Accents, you saved our evening!). Plus, great layouts, funny pics and great reviews. If you're not on the Neutral Accents wagon, than you're on the wrong wagon entirely. Rectify it. There's still some zines available at their bigcartel! 

It speaks for itself

Chiller Than Most Fanzine + Activate Fanzine (Weekly Seizure - 11.3.13)

Hey howdy ho. Nothing much to report except for that I still have a ton of zines to read! Thought I'd share some thoughts on a few that've come my way.

Activate #1

1) Activate #1
To shoot perfectly square, this one kinda fell flat on me. I'm not a huge fan of the layouts and the huge print...makes me feel like I'm getting screwed on content. I also didn't like that I was promised "reviews" and there were only 2. The questions tend to be of the surface variety ('who are your influences?' 'Who plays what?') and remind me of zines like It's Your Choice (which I did not like). That being said, there IS some cool content. Poder Absoluto is a band I've been interested in lately, and the interviews with Intent, Disapproval and Freedom were decent. Oh, my art was also reprinted here on the Dog Years interview. There's certainly potential with this zine. My honest opinion is "quality over quantity," so maybe trimming down on the number of interviews and digging a little deeper in the interview process would help? This could've been so great with a better layout and some reviews...
Looks like they're sold out, but keep your eye on their bigcartel here for future updates.

Team Tapir

2) Chiller Than Most #1
Incredible zine offering from a longtime internet buddy Atilla. The zine comes out of Europe (Hungary) and is completely cut n' paste for an incredible layout (peep the photo below). Nice, thorough interviews with Zach from Intent, Stand Clear, True, Unified Right and Rich Perusi's new band Garbageman. Great reading, great to look at. Definitely worth your time. Again, it's sold out, but maybe pay attention to their bigcartel and hope for a reprint.

LORDY that layout. Looks like a Ninja Turtles action figure package. 

Assault USA + Neutral Accents Fanzine (The Weekly Seizure - 7.28.13)

I'm supposed to have a logo drawn up for these things, but I ended up just doodling all weekend, and then seeing that movie 20 Feet From Stardom (it's about backup singers) and so I didn't. Here's some of what I came across this week that made life's casserole just a titch sweeter:

Send you to yer maker

ASSAULT USA Demo Tape
Self-described Chicago Spin-kick metal. Think an unbearded Ringworm and maybe The Promise or 100 Demons with a little bit of burly guitar tom-foolery thrown in. Good ish. assaultusa.bandcamp.com Not sure if there are any tapes left over. Tough titty said the kitty when the milk turned dry.

100% Tasteless

Neutral Accents Fanzine #4.5 (Austin Special)
One of the better zines currently in circulation. Throw Mobby on the cover and I'm on board. I've always liked the film reviews in this zine (Grim Cinema) and though a few people have complained about the sparse layout, I've always been into it because these zines are chock fulla readin', and I like it laid out all big n' bright. Of Course the Rival Mob interview delivers, with Brendan even getting into skateboarding. I asked him this once, about why he didn't skate anymore (long story) but the question never got answered. Big ups to NXA for digging the real dirt. I won't do it justice here, but this zine is A no. 1 and if you're not hip, then you're probably not reading this anyway. You're laminating a tour lanyard with a picture of a cat wearing Nikes on it. Go barrel roll into oncoming traffic, ya putz.

"I actually hate skateboarders who aren't on my computer or TV screen, so I take zero influence from it. If one of these talented little sexy boy pieces of shit EVER cut me the slightest bit of lip, I would smash their kneecaps into dust."
-Brendan Radigan 

WALL O' TEXT

Belief Fanzine #10
Got this one through a friend who went to Destroy LA, and while I can't hang with the main bands covered (Stretch Arm Strong and Bane) I really love the layout. This thing is from 2000 and what impresses me is the sheer volume of content. Lotsa stuff in a wall o' text format. Next issue was supposed to have inties with Dropkick Murphys and Carry On but I'm not sure it ever came out. Oh, also whoever made this must not like Ten Yard Fight very much. See the picture below. Brings to mind the excellent TYF vs In My Eyes discussions I've been having with internet friends lately.

Guess he's an IME fan?

Da WINNAH! #1

After days and days of an empty inbox I was pretty convinced that none of you were on board with this...til the tiny faintly glowing ember of hope and trust I have in "this thing of ours" was stoked by none other than my boy Daan # (That's pronounced "DAAN HASHTAG" newbz) the creative genius behind one of the best zines I've read in 2013, #Hardcore! I already dumped tons of praise on it in issue 2 of the newsletter (which you can still pick up here). 

DROP TROU

Anyway, the correct answer to the question (what record is the character above from?) is Amorality, the newest 7" offering from Canadian Scumbags Hassler. Since you're not goobers, you should recognize the trademark style of one Spoiler, but if you didn't...where have you been for the past 6 years? You don't see our pee-pee rat friend on the front of the EP (pictured below), but you'll find him on the back next to the track listing, mean-muggin' and dropping trou in a garbage can. Available on Beach Impediment Records (but sold out on their bigcartel). Look around.

HESH N' FRESH: WE ALL IN DA SAME GAME

Daan # gets a super duper pooper, exclusive Drug Dogs prize back for winning this round! Thanks for playing! There'll be another one soon!

A.B.A.Q #1

Not a long post today (it's Friday, let's party), but just a lil' reminder that I have only a few issues of A.B.A.Q #1 left. 

An inky collaboration between two friends, A.B.A.Q tackles real issues plaguing the mind of the American hardcore "kid" (that's codespeak for "upper middle class wigger"). Why kids with Neckbeards love Xibalba. Why clueless Mom's love Paper Trail. Why Harley Flannagan refuses to use commas in his Facebook status updates. The real shit.

Also a softball interview with Sorry Excuse, some hardcore news briefs, and some real polarizin' reviews. A quick read, but well worth your parent's pennies. (12 pages, 1/2 size)

(Attn Foreigners: We'll ship to ya, but we're not doin' bulk/wholesale stuff. Limited quantities. Yarrr....)

It even got a review here. 

Snap one up at the bigcartel here. 

USA for USA?

I can order a fanzine from Australia and get it within the week. I order a tape/shirt/7"/zine from any zitty entitled boner nosed dullard in the American midwest and can't get anything in under 4 months (plus dozens of threatening e-mails). I love giving my money to idiots. Also, I'd really like it if we got 500 more fat kids in Supreme hats to do that "knuckle-cracking" pose at shows and talk about Merauder. We haven't quite hit that quota yet.

Read Chunks zine. Then go mosh into an oncoming bus.