Executive Director / Editor-in-chief | Todd Taylor |
---|---|
Managing Editor | Daryl Gussin |
Frequency | Bi-monthly |
Circulation | 6,200 |
Founder | Todd Taylor, Sean Carswell |
Founded | 2001 |
Country | USA |
Based in | Los Angeles |
Website | razorcake |
Razorcake is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that publishes the Razorcake fanzine, a DIY punk rock fanzine published bi-monthly out of Los Angeles, California. It was co-founded by Todd Taylor (former Flipside managing editor) and Sean Carswell (author and Gorsky Press co-founder) in 2001. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]
As Flipside was going under, Taylor decided that he did not want to cease to write about music. His initial idea was to create a webzine instead of a print zine because of financial restraints. Taylor told Carswell, during a trip to Florida, about his plan for a webzine. Carswell suggested that a print edition be produced. Taylor concurred, stipulating that Carswell needed to move to Los Angeles in order to assist with the production of the fanzine. [1] [2] [8]
The name for both editions was chosen while searching for a domain name. Many of the 300 possibilities, such as "Born to Rock" and "Barbed Wire Asshole," were either taken, too expensive, or thought to be a name that "would trap [them]." "Razorcake" was suggested by Katy (a.k.a. KT), a friend of Taylor and Carswell. The name was chosen since it meant nothing and was economical, and Skinny Dan (a.k.a. Danny) set up the website at www.razorcake.com. [1] [2] [9] [10]
March 2001 saw the first issue of the print edition of Razorcake. The inaugural issue was the only one to bear a newsprint cover. Every issue since the first has had a glossy cover. As opposed to the cover, the focus of the content within Razorcake has never changed. Also, the fanzine's circulation has more than doubled (to 6,000) since the first issue. [11] [12] August 2021 saw the 123rd issue of Razorcake, making it the longest continually printed DIY punk zine in the United States still in operation. [13]
In late 2005, Razorcake was approved by the IRS as an official 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Razorcake is America's only fanzine dedicated to punk to obtain nonprofit status. [14] The new organization combined the Gorsky Press and the zine, and is now officially called Razorcake/Gorsky Press, Inc. This meant that not one person could individually benefit from Razorcake. All money earned goes back into day-to-day operations and keeping Razorcake afloat. Razorcake wanted to show that its business model was out in the open in order to demonstrate that a sustainable business could be ethical, fair, and true to its ideals long after its first issue. [15]
Razorcake provides consistent coverage of do-it-yourself punk culture that you won't find anywhere else. Razorcake believes in positive, progressive, community-friendly DIY punk. "We do our part."
DIY punk culture is often misrepresented, misunderstood, and the target of corporate exploitation. Razorcake supports a legit community of punk music and culture as the only bona fide 501(c)(3) non-profit music magazine in America.
Razorcake's bi-monthly fanzine is a one-of-a-kind resource for the DIY punk community. Over the years, Razorcake has developed this resource to help document every facet of this culture. The Razorcake Gorsky umbrella also includes book publishing, record pressing, live shows and readings, and a thriving web presence that maintains weekly podcasts, webcomics, and videos.
Razorcake's open participation policy means anyone can become a contributor. Currently, Razorcake offers a forum for over 180 long-term independent volunteer writers, photographers, illustrators, and musicians from around the world. Razorcake takes pride in the DIY punk scenes and represents them internationally. Razorcake also distributes the magazine to over twenty countries.
DIY punk is an exciting, evolving culture that can thrive outside of corporate interests. Razorcake's goal is to continue operating a modern framework where this community of independent, DIY punk can continue. [16]
From the interviews it runs (contributors interview bands based solely on their appreciation), to the advertising allowed (no major labels and "below-market price" advertising to those in the DIY community), to the method of the zine's distribution (not via chain stores, but directly to individual stores and people), Razorcake operates outside of the corporate structures that a traditional music magazine would embrace. [12] [17] With only two people on staff, all of the material offered in both editions of Razorcake is donated. [2]
Razorcake sees itself as a constant celebration and criticism of contemporary DIY punk rock. Every piece that Razorcake runs is exclusive. Razorcake provides long-format, detailed interviews with contemporary punk bands (including Martha, Toys That Kill, Soul Glo, Shang-A-Lang, The Ergs!, The Marked Men, Tenement (band)) and with punk pioneers (such as The Adolescents, Dead Moon, Kathleen Hanna, Jello Biafra, Ian Mackaye, Joe Lally, Penelope Houston), and a variety of musicians under the DIY punk umbrella (Hasil Adkins, Superchunk, Kenneth Higney, At The Drive-In, The Melvins, Pere Ubu).
Razorcake not only interviews bands from all over the globe (Gorilla Angreb, Career Suicide, Amyl and the Sniffers), but punk-affiliated artists—photographers (Edward Colver, Bev Davies), comic artists (Nate Powell), movie directors (Alex Cox dir. of Repo Man (film), Curtis Harrington), actors (Kevin Murphy (actor) from Mystery Science Theater 3000), writers (Brad Warner, Nancy Barile, Erika Dawn Lyle)—and political thinkers such as Howard Zinn, Christian Parenti, Noam Chomsky, and Candace Falk and Gary Pateman (curators of the Emma Goldman Paper Project).
Razorcake is dedicated to an ongoing attention to its own roots and sections of Los Angeles County (especially East Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley, South Los Angeles) and Tijuana. The fanzine has interviewed a number of bands and individuals from these areas, as well as published articles related to this geographic area.
A documentary film series directed by Jimmy Alvarado featuring bands from Los Angeles's Eastside.
Starting with issue 46, Razorcake began a series of articles titled "One Punk's Guide to..." wherein writers give personal takes on various topics.
Additionally, some Guides have only been published on Razorcake's website.
Besides Todd Taylor and Sean Carswell, former Flipside writers Donofthedead, Jimmy Alvarado, Designated Dale, Kat Jetson, The Rhythm Chicken, Jessica T., Nardwuar the Human Serviette, and Rich Mackin all wrote for the premier issue. Many of them remain with the publication, but Razorcake also has a raft of writers who are well known in the DIY punk rock community as zinesters, musicians, and artists including:
Gorsky Press, the book publishing arm of Razorcake, founded by Sean Carswell and Felizon Vidad, predated both the Razorcake website and zine. [9] Its mission is similar to Razorcake in that it focuses on high quality material from marginalized and disenfranchised writers. Gorsky Press has released books by underground writers such as Patricia Geary, Bucky Sinister, James Jay, and Jennifer Whiteford.
In 2006, razorcake.com was revamped. To reflect its non-profit status, the website's official url became www.razorcake.org. The website provides an almost wholly different set of content than the zine, while retaining the same focus on DIY punk rock by publishing live reviews, photos, columns, and interviews different from those appearing in the print edition.
By 2007, the razorcake.org website had been updated over 10,000 times, primarily by the posting of individual record reviews. [2] The website is updated with a new home page story every day. Also, Razorcake made early issues available on the site in .pdf format for free. March 2008 saw the launching of Razorcake's first set of podcasts. For the first time since its inception, people could hear directly from Razorcake the music on which Razorcake focuses.
Razorcake also distributes various DIY items from their website, such as records, zines, and books.
In 2007, the Razorcake Records label was launched. Razorcake Records is also a non-profit venture. It conscientiously selects bands from the DIY punk rock community that share the same values as Razorcake. The first two releases were part of what Razorcake calls "The Sister Series."
The Sister Series is a cultural exchange that aims to connect bands from different areas. This is done by simultaneously releasing two separate 7" records by two similar independent bands, with each band providing some originals and cover of a song by the other band. Bands that have been featured in the Sister Series include Tiltwheel (San Diego) and Toys That Kill (San Pedro, CA), The Arrivals (Chicago, IL) and Grabass Charlestons (Gainesville, FL), and The Hex Dispensers (Austin, TX) and Young Offenders (San Francisco, CA).
A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and first popularized within science fiction fandom, and from there the term was adopted by other communities.
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment ". DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations, and identity enhancement.
A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and popularized within science fiction fandom, entering the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.
Sniffin' Glue and Other Rock 'N' Roll Habits..., widely known as simply Sniffin' Glue, was a monthly punk zine started by Mark Perry in July 1976 and released for about a year. The name is derived from a Ramones song "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue." Some of the zine's writers, such as Danny Baker, later became well-known journalists.
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.
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.
Maximumrocknroll, often written as Maximum Rocknroll and usually abbreviated as MRR, is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, MRR focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily features artist interviews and music reviews. Op/ed columns and news roundups are regular features as well, including submissions from international contributors. By 1990, it "had become the de facto bible of the scene". MRR is considered to be one of the most important zines in punk, not only because of its wide-ranging coverage, but because it has been a consistent and influential presence in the ever-changing punk community for over three decades. From 1992 to 2011, it published a guide called Book Your Own Fuckin' Life.
Punk Planet was a 16,000 print run punk zine, based in Chicago, Illinois, that focused most of its energy on looking at punk subculture rather than punk as simply another genre of music to which teenagers listen. In addition to covering music, Punk Planet also covered visual arts and a wide variety of progressive issues — including media criticism, feminism, and labor issues.
Slug and Lettuce is a free newsprint punk zine started in State College, Pennsylvania by Christine Boarts in 1987. In 1989 CBL and S&L relocated to New York City where the zine's print run steadily grew and increased to 10,000 with free worldwide distribution. In 1997, CBL and S&L relocated to Richmond, Virginia. Its byline reads "A zine supporting the Do-It-Yourself ethics of the punk community". The print version ended in 2007 with edition #90, and the PO Box was closed in 2016.
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.
Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands.
Tim Yohannan, also known as Tim Yo, was the founder of Maximum Rocknroll, a radio show and fanzine documenting punk subculture. He also helped in establishing a number of DIY collectives, such as 924 Gilman Street, Blacklist Mailorder, and the Epicenter Zone record store.
Flipside, known as Los Angeles Flipside Fanzine, was a punk zine published in Whittier and Pasadena, California, from 1977 to 2002. The magazine was associated with its own record label, Flipside Records, releasing vinyl records and compact discs beginning in 1978.
Kent McClard is a record label owner and zine publisher from Goleta, California.
Ian Christe is an author, disc jockey and the publisher of Bazillion Points Books. He attended Mynderse Academy, The Clarkson School's Bridging Year, and Indiana University Bloomington (1987-1990).
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.
Smash the Windows is the first full-length album from the DIY folk punk band Mischief Brew. The album was released in 2005 by Fistolo Records (US), and in 2006 by Gunner Records (EU). It was recorded in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY at Vibromonk Studios by Tamir Muskat and Danny Shatzky, December 2004-January 2005. The album has guest appearances from members of World Inferno, Guignol, Evil Robot Us', and Leftöver Crack.
Orcastrated is a studio album by the English Punk rock band Toy Dolls, released in 1995. The band name is rendered as Toy Dollz on this album.
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music, and politics. It is often associated with third-wave feminism, which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement and has recently been seen in fourth-wave feminist punk music that rose in the 2010s. The genre has also been described as coming out of indie rock, with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express anger, rage, and frustration, emotions considered socially acceptable for male songwriters but less common for women.
Revenge of the Psychotronic Man are an English punk band with hardcore influences based in Manchester and formed in 2004. They are sometimes referred to as Revenge Of..., Revenge, or RPM. The band has had music released in the UK, mainland Europe, and the US, and has toured the UK and Europe extensively. At the start of 2018, the band announced they would be splitting up in December of that year, but would be playing dates for the remainder of the year. Their final gig was at Rebellion in their hometown of Manchester, which sold out four months in advance.