from Randy Spaghetti by noreply@blogger.com (Randy Spaghetti)
Avow #24 $3 Microcosm 222 S. Rogers St. Bloomington, IN 47404
This issue of Avow is a bit of a time capsule for me. Keith writes
about bands, people, zines, and topics that mostly happened when I was
in my twenties. I’m 40 now. Reading about Karl Alvarez defending Brett
Gurewitz in the pages of Tatterfrock zine is like breaking the shovel
out and digging that time capsule up. I’m quite certain that there is
not one other person in the greater Coeur d’Alene area that I associate
with that knows who in the hell those people are or what in the hell a
Tatterfrock is (well, maybe one). This is exactly what still draws me
to zines today; the fact that not too many people know what they are,
even fewer know much about their history, and even fewer still have read
any, if at all. For people like me who are tapped into this underworld,
and know some of its history, reading about old controversies in a new
issue of a long running zine, along with debates about what is and is
not punk and/or hardcore, well that just makes me happy. This issue is
aesthetically beautiful to look at. Keith has a wonderful design style
and is an incredible artist. Avow 24 is mostly record reviews done in a
unique way; he reviews old records that meant a lot to him, sometimes
for their politics, or the artwork, or the memories of loved ones that
they conjured up, and sometimes simply for the sounds coming from the
speakers. The writing is great. Also included are some comics about
seeking meaningful employment, and an interview with Joe Lachut of
‘Seven Inches to Freedom’ zine that had me disagreeing loudly, to
nobody. I love it when an interview does that.
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