Profane Existence

Last updated
Profane Existence
Founded1989 (1989)
Genre Anarcho-punk, hardcore punk, extreme metal
Country of originUnited States
Location Minneapolis, Minnesota
Official website profaneexistence.com

Profane Existence is a Minneapolis-based [1] anarcho-punk collective. Established in 1989, [2] the collective publishes a nationally known [3] zine (also called Profane Existence), as well as releasing and distributing anarcho-punk, crust, and grindcore music, [4] and printing and publishing pamphlets and literature. [5] [6] Stacy Thompson describes the collective as "the largest, longest-lasting, and most influential collective in Anarcho-Punk so far." [7] The collective folded in 1998, [8] [9] although its distribution arm, then called Blackened Distribution, continued operating. [10] It restarted in 2000. [2] "Making punk a threat again" is the group's slogan.

Contents

History

Profane Existence
Profane Existence number 40.jpg
PublisherProfane Existence Collective
FounderDan Siskind
Founded1989
First issue1989
Final issue2013
Based in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Website profaneexistence.org/magazine/
OCLC 23072105

Launched in 1989, [11] the Profane Existence magazine has been described as "the largest of the anarchist Punk fanzines in North America." [12] The magazine deals with a very broad range of topics, [13] including veganism, animal, women's and minority rights, anti-fascist action and the punk lifestyle. It published feature articles, interviews, reports on local scenes around the world, editorials, letters, "how-to" articles, and so on. [4] [14] Thompson writes that the zine "functions as [a newspaper] for many Anarcho-Punks, especially those in the Twin Cities area." [15] Until it ceased publication in 1998 Profane Existence was free in the Twin Cities and cost $1–3 elsewhere; then as now customers who order the zine through the mail are only charged for shipping. [7] The zine was initially published in a black and white tabloid format. [15] It switched to an 8½ x 11" magazine format with issue #23 (Autumn 1994) but returned to a tabloid format (now with color front and back covers) with issue #38 (Spring 2000). [15]

In 1992 the group co-published (with Maximum Rock n Roll ) the first edition of Book Your Own Fuckin' Life, a directory (organized by region) of bands, distributors, venues, houses where "touring bands or traveling punks could sleep and sometimes eat for free," etc.--what Thompson describes as a "Yellow Pages of sorts" for "touring punk bands and punks in general." [5]

Profane Existence Records, the collective's record label, was also founded in 1989. [11] One of the label's first releases was "Extinction," the seminal New York City crust punk band Nausea's only full-length album, which John Griffin describes as "as important to the punks of the '90s as The Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks was to the punks of the late '70s." [16] Another notable early release was Asbestosdeath's second 7", "Dejection"; Asbestosdeath's members went on to form the metal bands Sleep, High on Fire, and Om. Throughout the early and mid-1990s, Profane Existence released or distributed records by many other crust bands, including Doom, Misery, Fleas and Lice, Anarcrust, Counterblast, Dirt, and Hellbastard. [11] Thompson writes that the label "became ground zero for [the crust] movement" and that the aesthetic of second-wave (i.e., beginning in the late 1980s) anarcho-punk "is currently exemplified by the bands released" on the label. [11] More recently, the label has released music by bands like Behind Enemy Lines, [17] MURDER DISCO X, Iskra, and The Cooters. [18] In 2009 they hosted independent crust radio shows, Scairt Radio, Doomed Society, Organize and Arise and others. This finished in 2012, where the magazine became an online magazine.

Profane Existence has regularly featured some of the most prominent punk visual artists in underground punk culture. The featured artists are known for illustrating punk album covers, magazines, showing their work in galleries or for their work as activists.

  1. 58- "Hush" a.k.a. Jeremy Clark, best known for illustrating Slug and Lettuce .
  2. 56 - Amy Toxic (illustrated for Alternative Tentacles, Toxic Narcotic, Caustic Christ, The Boston Phoenix,) Married to a member of Toxic Narcotic.
  3. 55 – Matt Garabedian – (drummer and illustrator for Aus-Rotten and Behind Enemy Lines.)
  4. 54- "Fly", a New York City artist and activist. (Book "Peops", illustrating Slug and Lettuce, mural at ABC No Rio.)
  5. 48- "Steve" (From Visions of War, illustrated Profane Existence merchandise)
  6. 47- Kieran Plunkett- (illustrated for UK Subs, The Restarts)
  7. 46 – "Mid" aka Rob Middleton (illustrated for Napalm Death and Extreme Noise Terror)
  8. 45- "Marald" (illustrated for Wartorn, Warcollapse, Imperial Leather, Borndead, State of Fear, The Cooters)

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Kennedy, Tony (1992-10-28). "Food Co-Ops Thrive, but Stray From Traditionalist Roots". Star Tribune. For example, Wedge Community Food Co-op in south Minneapolis underwent a $1 million expansion this summer...Profane Existence magazine, a publication of the local anarchist community, twice has railed against the co-op in 'Sledge the Wedge' features.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Punk Productions, 92
  3. ↑ Scholtes, Peter S. (1999-04-07). "The Rise of Punk Civilization". City Pages. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  4. 1 2 Bregman, Adam (1998-02-25). "Sledgehammers to the streets: The zine scene". LA Weekly . Retrieved 2007-08-29.
  5. 1 2 Thompson, Punk Productions, 104
  6. ↑ "Pop Notes". Saint Paul Pioneer Press. 2003-11-28. pp. E3. Retrieved 2007-09-08. TODAY Profane Existence, the Minneapolis-based collective of political punks who make "punk a threat again" with a magazine, publishing company and record label, celebrates 14 years of raising hell at the Triple Rock.
  7. 1 2 Thompson, Punk Productions, 108
  8. ↑ Thompson, Punk Productions, 105
  9. ↑ The collective's October 1998 announcement that it would "cease operations" can be read here Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Thompson, Punk Productions, 186
  11. 1 2 3 4 Thompson, Punk Productions, 97
  12. ↑ O'Hara, Craig (1999). The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise. Edinburgh: AK Press. p. 71. ISBN   978-1-873176-16-0.
  13. ↑ Thompson, Punk Productions, 95
  14. ↑ Thompson, Punk Productions, 106
  15. 1 2 3 Thompson, Punk Productions, 94
  16. ↑ Griffin, John. "Extinction: Nausea: Review". Allmusic . Retrieved 2007-09-09.
  17. ↑ "PITTSBURGH CALLING A capsule look at Pittsburgh bands making news". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Pittsburgh Post Gazette Publishing Co. 2007-02-01. p. WE. 17.
  18. ↑ "Punk Metal: The Cooters". Allmusic . Retrieved 2007-09-03.

Related Research Articles

Anarcho-punk is an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. Some use the term broadly to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, hardcore punk, folk punk, and other styles.

Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.

CrimethInc., also known as CWC, which stands for either "CrimethInc. Ex-Workers Collective" or "CrimethInc Ex-Workers Ex-Collective", is a decentralized anarchist collective of autonomous cells. CrimethInc. emerged in the mid-1990s, initially as the hardcore zine Inside Front, and began operating as a collective in 1996. It has since published widely read articles and zines for the anarchist movement and distributed posters and books of its own publication.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punk zine</span> Fanzines of punk rock

A punk zine is a zine related to the punk subculture and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary, punk poetry, news, gossip, music reviews and articles about punk rock bands or regional punk scenes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crust punk</span> Music genre

Crust punk is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on political and social ills. The term "crust" was coined by Hellbastard on their 1986 Ripper Crust demo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toxic Narcotic</span> American crust punk band

Toxic Narcotic is an American crust punk band from Boston, Massachusetts, United States, who formed in 1989. Though many label them crust or hardcore, they do not self-identify with any one specific subgenre of DIY punk. Their songs typically include anti-war, -violence, and green peace lyrics. Their name, as revealed in an interview with Vice, is associated with the movement, the lead singer saying "... The name means what is says. Narcotics, chemicals, and ignorance are toxic, not just to the human mind, but also to humanity in general." Most of their albums have been released on their label, Rodent Popsicle Records. The album We're All Doomed was released in 2002 on Go-Kart Records and a split CD with Misery was released in 2004, also on Go-Kart Records. Their 15th anniversary show in December, 2004, was filmed by Subversion Media and released on Rodent Popsicle Records. The band toured the United States and Europe extensively through their career. In 2005, the band performed at North East Sticks Together. Later that year, Toxic Narcotic went on hiatus and two of its members, Bill Damon and Will Sullivan, formed the band Mouth Sewn Shut. Bill Damon, the vocalist, runs Rodent Popsicle Records. Sam Jodrey, the drummer, hurt his back in 2008 and all following shows had to be cancelled.

Aus-Rotten was an American crust punk band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Active from 1991 to 2001, its members practiced and promoted a philosophy of anarchist politics. The band included lead vocalist Dave Trenga, vocalist/guitarist Eric Good, bassist Corey Lyons, and drummer Matt Garabedian. Spitboy singer Adrienne Droogas would often join the band in their later material. The band's name comes from the German verb ausrotten, which translates to "exterminate" or "eradicate".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thrashcore</span> Fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk

Thrashcore is a fast-tempo subgenre of hardcore punk that emerged in the early 1980s. Thrashcore is essentially sped-up hardcore, often using blast beats. Songs can be very brief, and thrashcore is in many ways a less dissonant, less metallic forerunner of grindcore. The genre is sometimes associated with the skateboarder subculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D-beat</span> Genre of hardcore punk

D-beat is a style of hardcore punk, developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, after whom the genre is named, as well as a drum beat characteristic of this subgenre. D-beat is known for its "grinding, distorted and brutally political" sound. Discharge may have themselves inherited the beat from Motörhead and the Buzzcocks. D-beat is closely associated with crust punk, which is a heavier, more complex variation. The style was particularly popular in Sweden, and developed there by groups such as Crude SS, Anti Cimex, Mob 47, and Driller Killer. Other D-beat groups include Doom and the Varukers from the UK; Disclose from Japan; Crucifix and Final Conflict from the U.S.; Ratos de Porão from Brazil; and MG15 from Spain. While the style initially developed in the early 1980s, a number of new groups working within the subgenre emerged in the mid-1990s. These include the Swedish groups Wolfbrigade, Totalitär, Avskum, Skitsystem, and Disfear.

Last Hours is an anti-authoritarian publishing collective. From 2003 to 2008 it produced a fanzine, initially called Rancid News until issue 9, changing its name to Last Hours from issue 10 till the final issue, 17, in May 2008. All 17 issues were edited by Edd Baldry before he stood down as editor. Since 2008 Last Hours has become a publishing collective, launching a website, and releasing two books in the autumn of 2009, Excessive Force and Diary of a miscreant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amebix</span> British crust punk band

Amebix were an English crust punk band. Formed as the Band with No Name, the band's original run was from 1978 to 1987, during which time they released two EPs and three albums. The group reunited in 2008, released another full-length album in 2011, and disbanded again in November 2012.

Minneapolis hardcore is regional hardcore punk from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nausea (band)</span> American hardcore punk band

Nausea was an American hardcore punk band from New York City, active from 1985 to 1992. They are cited as a notable band in the first wave of crust punk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spitboy</span> American anarcho-punk band

Spitboy was an American anarcho-punk band founded in the San Francisco Bay area in 1990. The all-female band aggressively criticized patriarchy and gender roles but did not associate with the contemporaneous riot grrrl movement. They released several records and toured extensively and then disbanded in 1995. Members later played in the bands Instant Girl and Aus Rotten, while drummer Michelle Cruz Gonzales and vocalist Adrienne Droogas have been active as writers.

Behind Enemy Lines is an American crust punk band, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in a crossover thrash style of anarchist crust punk and thrash metal. The band features vocalist Dave Trenga and drummer Matt Garabedian, both of Aus-Rotten, Mary Bielich and Matt Tuite and formerly guitarist Bill Chamberlain of The Pist and Caustic Christ.

Elen Orr, known as Fly, is a comic book artist, illustrator, activist, and teacher whose art has been published in various magazines and fanzines, including Slug and Lettuce, Maximum Rock 'N' Roll, World War 3 Illustrated, and The Village Voice, among others. She is also a former member of New York queercore punk band God Is My Co-Pilot.

<i>Extinction</i> (album) 1990 studio album by Nausea

Extinction is the first studio album by New York City crust punk band Nausea. It was released in 1990 on Profane Existence.

Animal rights are closely associated with two ideologies of the punk subculture: anarcho-punk and straight edge. This association dates back to the 1980s and has been expressed in areas that include song lyrics, benefit concerts for animal rights organisations, and militant actions of activists influenced by punk music. Among the latter, Rod Coronado, Peter Daniel Young and members of SHAC are notable. This issue spread into various punk rock and hardcore subgenres, e.g. crust punk, metalcore and grindcore, eventually becoming a distinctive feature of punk culture.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.