Larry-bob's Mailbox

Nancy: A Queer Zine: zine celebrating effeminate queers. Contact Alex Creep (who is based in the UK) at creepclub@gmail.com

Homobody #6: This issue of the comics-oriented zine for queer boy homebodies includes an interview with QZAP, the Queer Zine Archive Project, a comic by Rob Kirby, contributions from Corina Fastwolf, Christopher P, Graham, Jessie J., interview with Robert Triptow, and comics from editor Rio Safari. riosafari@riseup.net, 1631 NE Broadway #737, Portland, Oregon, 97232

Dildo Machine #2: queercore / riot boy zine includes interview with The Two Funerals band, Why I Hate the Baseball Metaphor, List of zines and videos available by mailorder, Dildo Machine Top 8 Queer/Grrrl Hits. email aquestionableproduction@gmail.com http://thesestories.altervista.org/

I don't get as many zines as I used to... not by a long shot. Mostly it's because I've become very unreliable as a snail mail correspondent. I pretty regularly still get copies of Batteries Not Included. And I get notices from Reb of Fanorama about new issues of that and associated zines.

Anyway, I do occaionally get zines that are previously unfamiliar to me. I'd had a little online correspondence with the editor of this zine, and he sent me a copy. "how i learned to love myself, and occaionally other men" is a mini-size zine. The writer is self-described as punk and gay. The zine is about his coming out process. At the beginning, he had a girlfriend, and was curious about sex with guys but always chickened out before going through with it. Until he read on the internet about queerpunk. Anyway, I don't need to spoil the whole story, but it's a nice read. You can get in contact here -- http://www.beetfarm.org/tunazine/ or email dave [at] beetfarm.org

I'm not able to make it up to Portland this weekend, but there is a Portland Zine Symposium there this weekend and there is a queer zine panel on Sunday afternoon. I think that Dave from the above mentioned zine will be there, and so will Milo of QZAP.org, the queer zine archive project.

I got a zine in the mail recently. It's called Hot And Heavy and it features clippings of ads for old gay porn movies. The guy went through old issues of The Village Voice pasted this up from that.

Send $2 to Snackbar Confidential, PO Box 1359, Huntington, NY 11743.

Got a new zine done by Brontez, who is involved with various music things like Gravy Train!!!, Veronica Lipgloss, etc. The zine is called Fag School, and includes an interview with writer Alvin Orloff, author of the new book Gutter Boys, a series of photos of the life of a gogo boy, advice from Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile, interview with the Husbands, questionaire with Scream Club, photo pictorial of two guys playing music together and having sex, reviews of books, videos, porn, and cruising. For info send email to bulletproofslug {at} hotmail or send $3 to 2846 Chapman St., Oakland, CA 94601.

Bil Sherman from Minneapolis has a new book of his underground comics called "Wanky Comics."

He also has a website which features some of the art from the comic. It's at http://www.wankycomics.com

The stories have a surreal quality to them, as a block-headed tree-man battles and sucks bearded woodsman, monsters kidnap astronauts, and a horny and cranky unicorn has a close enounter with God.

Bil describes them by saying "File under: Super Faggy Adult Underground Comics." The comic books are available at several stores in Minneapolis or for on-line purchase.

Electricfemme -- "a zine about body image and insanity experienced by a black Indian bi-femme." $1 and 2 stamps to:
Haight NF & Mail Center
Qianya S. Martin
1621 Haight St, PMB #129
San Francisco, CA 94117

I got a couple CDs in a package. One, by Busu-Chan is self-described as a "one-man bnand featuring a reclusive transvestite obsessed with Hello Kitty and True Norwegian Black Metal." Despite the bedroom credentials, it does have real guitar and stuff on it, and the lyrics are clever, if rather sophomoric.

The other CD, Steven Schultz' "I forgot to get a rap name" is a similiarly wacky take on hiphop. The backing tracks are played by the musician on real instruments and sampled. Song titles are like "Call me Pinkbeard, mistress of the High Seas" rapped in the character of a gay pirate, and "Fuck a Harpoon," rapped by a killer whale.

They're real CDs with silk-screened discs, not CD-Roms, and they're available for $10 each from Steven Schultz, 763 Alcatraz Ave #7, Oakland, CA 94609.

Today people pay hundreds of dollars for self-released psychedelic records from the early 70s, while current self-released psychedelic CDs won't even fetch 50 cents from the used record store up on Haight Street. Perhaps in 30 years the $10 investment will be returned a hundred-fold. Who knows.

There's a new compilation out from Martin's label Lengua Armada. The compilation is called Histeria. The three new Limpwrist songs are Complex, Angry Queen, and The Ode. The latter pays homage to some old-school queer punks.

Other bands on the compilation are Life's Halt, Seein Red, E-150, Esperanza, DS-13, Deathreat, Sin Orden, and Melee. It's $8 PPD in the US. No checks, only cash or postal money orders payable to: Martin, 1010 1/2 Riverine Ave., Santa Ana, CA, 92701. The Limpwrist LP is the same price. Also available is a Los Crudos discography CD for $9. I got my copy at Amoeba in San Francisco, and they had a bunch of them.

My Heroes Always Have Been Ponyboys #6: Zine by the former editor of the zine Noise Queen. Report on Toronto Pride; article on a Carter Family song and a Joan Jett song, both with a lesbian subtext; An article critical of U.S. foreign policy; reviews of books and records. Tim Murphy, POB 28010, Bagot PO, Kingston, ON K7L 1A0, Canada. web: http://www.geocities.com/ponyboyzine

Bangbang 6: Huge (76 pages), well-designed French-language zine. snail mail:
Redaction BangBang
6, Chemin Galiffe
CH-1201 Geneve
web: http://bangbang1969.free.fr

One year later... It Still Hurts.: CD compilation of queer bands in commemeration of the one year anniversary of the G8 in Genoa. Put together by Italian queer zine Speeddemon. More information on the CD. Send $6 postpaid to their address: Speeddemon c/o Magnani
Via Ponte Seveso 66
20125 Milano
Italy.

After FX #11: Little review zine with reviews of zines and records. Send a couple stamps to James D. Harvey, 371 Corssfield Rd, King of Prussia, PA 19406.

Aidsner Sanders -- strange, kind of scrawley comics. send $1(?) to 102-40 67th Dr #3A, Forest Hills, NY 11375.

Wow, haven't done this in a couple of years... here's some newly arrived items:

Domestic Partner of Frankenstein -- comic about a mad scientist who creates a monster with the heart of a middle-aged gay antiques appraiser. The monster gets lonely... Very amusing. $3.50 to 1573 N. Milwaukie Ave, PMB #464, Chicago, IL 60622.

Bears on Bears edited by Ron Jackson Suresha -- book with various interviews regarding bear culture. From Alyson Books.

Scrunge -- little mini zine with lists of various stuff -- one issue covers Amsterdam, another Minneapolis/St. Paul, and also I got sent a big fold out sheet illustrating Hawaiian fauna. Also on the web. contact: scrunge@hotmail.com

Here's another bit of chipping away at the backlog. There's more to come, much much more.

Charlotte of Kink has a new one of her big folded up one-pagers. This one's entitled Dumb, and is about the Millennium Dome, the world's fair type monstrosity recently built in London. Admission is overpriced at £20. People suggest different dome zones that ought to exist. There's observations of dads doing dad-like behavior, and more. Email: beefergrrl@hotmail.com 2 pages, oversized. $1 to Charlotte, 33 Romford Road, Stratford, London E15 4LY UK http://www.charlottecooper.net/

R. Eirik Ott sent me the first two issues of his zine The Wussy Boy Chronicles: Caught somewhere between GUY and GAY. It's a zine about growing up something like the character Duckie in Pretty in Pink. Not gay, but not the stereotypical macho guy. There's examination of pop-culture wussy boys of film, like Matthew Broderick, and the early films of Anthony Michael Hall before he "metamorphosed into the Cock Man Oppressor in 'Edward Scissorhands.'" There's lots of writing in these thick zines (80 digest-sized pages in issue 1, 60 in issue 2), mostly prose, with some poetry. Some of the prose is about poetry, or at least going to poetry slams. email: poetryslam@hotmail.com $5 each to PO Box 1467, Chico, CA 95927-1467.

Violet Jones sent me Spunk #6, a folded one-pager with an essay about the state of the independent creative folks known as "zinesters." Plus she's doing a time capsule project to be buried in a national park, so send her your zines for that. Violet Jones, PO Box 55336, Hayward, CA 94545.

Running, but I can't even catch up. Another full mailbox today. Well, I'll treat the new stuff now, and catch up on the backlog later.

Milo sent me a new issue, #3, of his zine Mutate. It's got an interview with Pansy Division, coming out, a poem about gender by binarygirl, being a late bloomer, the Gap, binarygirl on losing her mother at an early age and growning up transgendered. email: miloboy@execpc.com -- website www.milosworld.com Half standard (tall) 24 pages, free.

I got a copy of the French-language Anarcho-fairie zine Bang Bang. It has articles on Mumia's statement against anti-gay violence, La Croiseiére, a gathering of queer men, the Italian/French/Swiss Queer Liberation Front, Lesbian, gay, bi, and trans pride in Toulouse, and more. For a copy, contact bangbang1969@hotmail.com

Books, I got books. Gutter Press sent me a copy of Derek McCormack's book Wish Book: A Gatalogue of Stories. I've read his earlier book about growing up queer in the 50s, Dark Rides and I'm looking forward to reading this. It's illustrated by Ian of Pas de Chance

Alyson Publications sent me a review copy of Pat Califia's new collection of erotic S/M fiction, No Mercy. It's supposed to be out in June (just in time for gay pride, when we all come out from under our rocks).

Plus I got a few zine orders, which I need to fulfil. Stay tuned folks, I've got more.

Oh man. I'm really behind on this. I've got lots of mail. I don't even remember what order I got it in. I'm just going to have to start doing a bit at a time and catching up. I guess I've been spending more time on QComedy.com and stuff related to that recently.

Rudy from Scutter sent me some back issues of his zine. Not really sure if these back issues are generally available, but write him and see about current issues - a new one should be out soon. There's stuff on Pansy Division, Bis, Janeane Garofalo, Nada Surf, Ozma, The Muffs, and more. Rudy, PO Box 3247, Alhambra, CA 91803. email: scutterzine@aol.com

DJ Snax, who is the artist formerly known as Paul Bonomo of Fagbash, was kind enough to send me a vinyl LP of his music under the name of Bedroom Productions. Unfortunately the post office was unkind enough to bend it in the process of jamming it into my PO Box. It seems a little warped. Anyway, I need to get around to listening to it and a bunch of other music that's been sent to me. For now, check out this Bedroom Productions webpage.

OK, finally some new mail for the new Millennium. Stuff was a little slow coming in at first, but now I've got an actual backlog due to my procrastination.

Moneyshot #9 - big zine from Angelina, with lots of fantastic content. Before I launch into the full description, just let me mention that the piece on being a goth of color was, I believe the first time that I'd seen this topic discussed in a zine, and about time! The contents include a piece in defense of Pandora; famous borderline personalities from cinema; beauty tips; a narrative about a woman who gets a crush on her counselor in a program; reactions to Tori Amos: drama queendom; admitting to liking country; a piece about weight; Anelina picks apart her friend Kim's lifestyle; profile of Theresa of Go Teen Go; domestic violence; a love-life lament about not finding the right princess; Wal-mart at two a.m.; fiction about going to a friend's funeral; a journal entry from 1991; a paper comparing two James Bond themes; a piece about a friend who died of a heroin overdose, and also Gia; Black Bat: Confessions of a black goth; What's Rose McGowen ever done to you?; going bowling with Carrie the stripper; one size doesn't fit anyone; and that's not even absolutely everything. Such a deal!
Also available from Angelina is the mini-zine Pinkbubble Zine. It's got: Stuff on Y2K; girls who wear glasses; people who don't mind their own business about other people's weight; the disappearance of privacy; life as a manic depressive; memories of Rocky Horror days; concentrating more on developing friendships rather than getting needs met sexually, and a friendship with a woman named Jill; thoughts on one-night stands; plus more. Moneyshot: 36 pages, standard. Pinkbubble Zine: 32 pages, mini. Send $2 for Moneyshot and/or $1 for The Pinkbubble Zine to PO Box 3024, Fayetteville, NC 28302-3024.

Rita Lynch has a new four song EP called Far Away. The title track is a slow, gentle number of vocals, guitar, with a rhythm section in the background, and the second track, Fallen, is in the same vein. The third track, "I am Obsessed," with its faster tempo, guitar bends, and desperate confidentiality brings to mind P.J. Harvey. Feels like the end of the world slowly builds, a dramatic end to the disc. Well-produced, and I like getting music in a small, well-chosen dose like this rather than the over-lengthy albums that seem too common these days. There's a website here. Email address is barbaradarby@compuserve.com

Boyd X #6 is a zine that's a little hard to get a handle on. Apparently at one point Boyd, the editor, did a zine called Confessions of a Male Lesbian. There's essays (with footnotes even) referencing Nietzsche, Ginsberg, and even Bruce Benderson's Toward the New Degeneracy (was the Benderson among the assigned texts for Boyd's Cold War: Film and Fiction class?) And there's also a lot of found magazine pictures of female models. 52 pages, standard, with full color cover. $2 to Boyd, POB 352135, Toledo, OH 43635-2135.

Got mail about the Underground Publishing Conference, to be held 10-11 June 2000 in Bowling Green Ohio. Note that they're looking for proposals for panels by April 1st. For more info contact Jason at 216 South Church St., Bowling Green, OH 43402, or upcon2000@hotmail.com

Speaking of small press conferences, I got a reminder card that Alternative Press Expo (APE) will be in SF February 5, 2000.

The Zine Yearbook Vol 4 is being prepared - send nominations for outstanding pieces from zines published in 1999 by 2/28/2000 to becomethemedia@earthlink.net

Clamor is a new magazine coming out in Feb 2000 with stuff on Howard Zinn, amateur boxing, graf writers, a firsthand account of a first pregnancy, sexual abuse survival, media and technology, coffee and free trade economics, WTO analysis, straightedge and women, fostering creativity, backpacking, the kkk and community organizing, bicycle commuting, Richard Smith and privacy issues, U.S. political prisoners, and monogamy. Send $4 for a single issue or $20 for a 4 issue subscription (checks payable to Become the Media) to POB 1225, Bowling Green, OH 43402. Email: clamormagazine@hotmail.com

Jan/Feb 2000 issue of Celebrate the Self: The Magazine of Solo Sex. Male masturbation info galore. $4.50 to Factor Press, PO Box 8888, Mobile, Alabama 36689. web: www.solosex.com

It's been a while since I've reviewed stuff, and the bag of unreviewed material is beginning to resemble Santa's sack of toys. So here's a special Xmas eve's eve bonaza.

The Homocore Mpls: Live and Loud compilation is a first so far as I can figure - a compilation of queer bands playing live. Bands include The Need, Lucifag, Mas Scara, Tribe 8, The Butchies, Fashion Sense, Harum-Scarum, Stephanie McCarter, Sherman Electric, Slalom, and Fagatron. For more info, see the Homocore Minneapolis webpage. Left Records, PO Box 300002, Minneapolis, MN 55403.

I See Gays is a document of C. Bard Cole's reading series at the Lower East Side bar sometimes known as I.C. Guys. The contributors to the zine are Travis Jeppesen, Emanuel Xavier, Brian Sloan, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Aldo Alvarez, Aaron Jason, C. Bard Cole, Matt Bernstein Sycamore, and Robert Kirby. Check Bard's web page for more info.

Alternative Tentacles sent me the new CD by Black Kali Ma, which is the new band of Gary Floyd, formerly of the Dicks and Sister Double Happiness. I haven't heard Gary's last few solo albums, which by and large weren't released in the U.S., but it's good to hear his music again, and it's very ferocious and hard-rocking.

The Urban Hermit #6. Sarah, who created the zine "Too many bisexual rockstars and not enough lesbian hip hop artists," includes in this issue some more thoughts on performing as a lesbian freestyler. Plus travels to Detroit, which has a lot of dots painted on it, and San Francisco. $1 to Sarah O'Donnel, PMB 910, 1122 E. Pike, Seattle, WA, 98122.

The Assassin and the Whiner #11. Carrie's comic zine is a diary of her life. In this issue she's covering the early part of 1999 when she was spending time on the east coast with a girlfriend, but things weren't exactly working out. 16 pages, digest. $1 to PO Box 481051, LA CA 90048.

Strap Yerself In #2 has a lot of stuff about a queer kid traveling on road trips, including bike travel in Florida, and hitch-hiking around the western U.S. Sam is also starting a bookstore in Bloomington. 40 pages, digest. $1 to Sam, Po Box 954, Bloomington, IN 47402-0954.

Agitart sent me some holiday cards with a checklist for gathering at the holday table, including items like "stop uncle when he cracks a racist joke," and "speak up when nephew asks: 'how do lesbians have sex?," plus reminding folks about the meat industry and more.

Idiosyncracy is a zine about going to Japan, plus a side trip to Korea. It's bound backwards like a Japanese magazine. 20 pages, digest. Send $1, $2 international, trades, free to prisoners to Cherry Thomas, PO Box 22, W. Townsend, MA 01474.

Steven Gellman's CD Photobook takes the form of an album of photographs, each song like a picture. The music is acoustic, in a folk vein, with electric instruments on some songs. The song "Different" is about being queer, though that's more apparent from the context of the lyric booklet, with its quote about coming out from Armisted Maupin. For more information and sound samples, visit hiddenpoet.com. Hidden Poet Music, PO Box 501, Germantown, MD 20875.

The December 1999 Batteries Not Included has a piece about a Jr. High band covering the song "She has a girlfriend now"; a piece by Mykel Board about moving beyond being a victim; and articles about porn. $3 to BNI, 130 W. Limestone St., Yellow Springs, OH 45387, or BNI@aol.com

Plus I got several holiday cards, and a couple of actual orders for Holy Titclamps. Maybe the nice mention I got in the new Zine Guide helped.

Being Red is the new novelette by Heather Lynn, author of how i learned to do IT bloody murder. The chapbook form of her books recall early Kathy Acker (aka The Black Tarantula), the confessional content recalls Mary MacLane. In this novelette, a series of highschool girls die of eating disorders, a sort of serial crime with an amnesiac killer. The baffled detective of this mystery is the news media, which asks and fails to answer the question "why." email: heatherlynn79@hotmail.com. $4 to Heather Lynn, PO Box 7023, Grayslake, IL, 60030-7023.

The December 1999 A&U: America's AIDS Magazine has David Cassidy on the cover. Includes an article on writer Paul Lisicky and an excerpt from his new first novel, Lawnboy.

Artists' Television Acess is upgrading their electrical systems, and needs donations. They sent me some mail about it. Their suggested donation is $35. Their address: ATA, 992 Valencia, SF CA 94110.

Got a catalog from Factor Press, publisher of Celebrate the Self, which is a publication about masturbation. To request a copy, write Factor Press, PO Box 8888, Mobile, Alabama 36689-8888.

Maybe it's the Xmas season that's the reason for all the catalogs. Got the new catalog from Blowfish, which sells sex products, books, and videos.

Fanorama #19: A whirlwind roadtrip across the U.S. provides the completion impetus for this issue and the photo for the color cover picture of editor REB's friend Collin aiming a super-8 camera at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Contents include an old article on nudism re-appropraited to refer to the faeries; Cyrus comics by Sina; an excerpt from REB's "The Boy with the Invisible Heart"; "Shy guy" nude photos (but he won't show his face...; letters from readers; creating a labyrinth; commentary on AIDS infections stopping their decline; poetry; a eulogy to Beowulf Thorne of Diseased Pariah News; a quote from The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions. 48 pages, half-legal. $5 to 109 Arnold Ave, Cranston, RI 02905. email: fanorama1@aol.com

Larry-bob
larrybob@io.com