V. Vale

Last updated
V. Vale
V.Vale at 24th & Florida - by jm3.jpg
Born (1944-02-04) 4 February 1944 (age 79)
Jerome War Relocation Center, Arkansas, United States
Occupation Writer, Independent Publisher
Nationality Japanese American
Alma mater UC Berkeley
Period1977–present
Genre Art, Music, Culture
Literary movement Punk Rock Movement, Industrial Music
Notable works Modern Primitives, Industrial Culture Handbook, Incredibly Strange Films
SpouseMarian Wallace
ChildrenValentine Marquesa Wallace
Website
www.researchpubs.com

V. "Valhalla" Vale (born February 4, 1944) is an American editor, writer, interviewer, musician and, as Vale Hamanaka, was keyboardist for the initial configuration of Blue Cheer, before it became famous as a power trio. [1] He is the publisher and primary contributor to books and magazines published by his company, RE/Search Publications. [2] Vale is the host of the television talk show Counter Culture Hour [3] on Public-access television cable TV channel 29 in San Francisco. The show is edited by his partner Marian Wallace. Vale is Japanese American.

Contents

Early life

A third-generation Japanese American, Vale was born on January 30, [4] 1944 [5] at the Jerome War Relocation Center to actor Kiyoshi Conrad Hamanaka and Mary Takaoka [6] [7] of the Vaudeville group Taka Sisters (Myrtle, Mary, Midi). [8] [9] The Taka Sisters broke up after the murder of Vale's aunt Midi Taka in 1936. [10] Vale has two younger half-sisters; musician/singer Lionelle Hamanaka, and children's author and illustrator Sheila Hamanaka. [11]

By 1966 Vale received a bachelor's degree in English Literature at University of California, Berkeley and moved to Haight-Ashbury. [12] In 1970, he moved to an apartment in North Beach, where he continues to live today. [13]

Publishing

In 1977, while working at City Lights Bookstore, with $100 donated each by Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti, he began publication of Search and Destroy , a San Francisco-based zine documenting the then-current punk subculture. In 1980, he began publication of RE/Search, a tabloid format zine focusing on various counterculture and underground topics, with financial help from Geoff Travis of Rough Trade Records and actress/film director Betty Thomas. At the same time he also started his own typesetting business, allowing for a day job to fund his publishing exploits and guaranteeing high quality typography and design for his magazines and books.

Indie publisher V. Vale (right) talks to fellow author Lorin Morgan-Richards (left), at ZineFest, Los Angeles, 2012. Publishers V. Vale (right) with Lorin Morgan-Richards (left), ZineFest, Los Angeles, 2012.jpg
Indie publisher V. Vale (right) talks to fellow author Lorin Morgan-Richards (left), at ZineFest, Los Angeles, 2012.

The 1980s saw the expansion of RE/Search books from tabloid-formatted zines to academically-modeled books. Vale published and contributed to many books on the subjects of pranks, obscure music and films, industrial culture, authors J. G. Ballard and William S. Burroughs, modern primitives, and many other underground topics. In 1991, Vale sold his typography business to focus on publishing full-time.

Vale, influenced by and well read in cultural anthropology, describes his focus for writing: (I have) "this weird theory that there's only 1000 interesting people on this planet that I refer to as primary source thinkers. It's my job to find them. I'm just after something that lasts longer, not 'high sugar fluff' as Henry Rollins put it. I want something I don't get right away. One of my favorite phrases, and I heard this from William Burroughs, is 'belief is the enemy of knowledge'." [14]

Along with writing and distributing, Vale tours nationally giving talks about his career and provides guidance to DIY and Indie artists about book publishing. In 2012, Henry Rollins interviewed Vale at LA ZineFest. [15]

Newsletter

As of 2017, both artist and musician Florian-Ayala Fauna and science fiction author Bruce Sterling are sponsors for V. Vale's RE/Search newsletter. [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [21]

Recordings

During the coronavirus pandemic, Vale began to record songs with his wife, Marian Wallace. He played the Yamaha spinet piano. Wallace sang and produced the songs. This resulted in a 12-track digital album, Lockdown Lullabies, was released in 2020. The album production was covered by the San Francisco Chronicle. [13]

Media

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Sterling</span> American author, speaker and futurist (born 1954)

Michael Bruce Sterling is an American science fiction author known for his novels and short fiction and editorship of the Mirrorshades anthology. In particular, he is linked to the cyberpunk subgenre.

<i>Wired</i> (magazine) American technology magazine

Wired is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered in San Francisco, California, and has been in publication since March/April 1993. Several spin-offs have been launched, including Wired UK, Wired Italia, Wired Japan, and Wired Germany.

Vanity Fair is a monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.

Condé Nast is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942), and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan.

<i>Pitchfork</i> (website) American online music publication

Pitchfork is an American online music publication that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.

<i>Ars Technica</i> Technology news website owned by Condé Nast

Ars Technica is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, science, technology policy, and video games.

RE/Search Publications is an American magazine and book publisher, based in San Francisco, founded by its editor V. Vale in 1980. In several issues, Andrea Juno was also credited as an editor. It was the successor to Vale's earlier punk rock fanzine Search & Destroy (1977–1979), which was started with small donations, provided to Vale by Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti. RE/Search has published tabloid-sized magazines and books.

<i>No Maps for These Territories</i> 2000 Canadian film

No Maps for These Territories is an independent documentary film made by Mark Neale focusing on the speculative fiction author William Gibson. It features appearances by Jack Womack, Bruce Sterling, Bono, and The Edge and was released by Docurama. The film had its world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in October 2000.

Sheila Hamanaka is an American freelance children's author and illustrator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conrad Yama</span> American actor

Conrad Yama, was an American theatre, film, and television actor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thoughts on Flash</span> Open letter published by Steve Jobs

"Thoughts on Flash" is an open letter published by Steve Jobs, co-founder and then-chief executive officer of Apple Inc., on April 29, 2010. The letter criticizes Adobe Systems' Flash platform and outlines reasons why the technology would not be allowed on Apple's iOS hardware products. The letter drew accusations of falsehood, hypocrisy, and ulterior motive. In retrospect many publications came to agree with Jobs.

Condé Nast Entertainment is a production and distribution studio with film, television, social and online video, and virtual reality content.

The Taka Sisters were a traveling vaudeville trio of Japanese-American singers and dancers who billed themselves as "the only Japanese triplets on the stage".

Lenny Letter, also known as Lenny, was a weekly online feminist newsletter created by Lena Dunham and Jennifer Konner. Lenny also had a book imprint called Lenny Books on Random House. It was shut down in October 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Horror podcast</span> Podcast genre

Horror is a genre of podcasts covering fiction, non-fiction, and reviews of the horror genre generally.

Florian-Ayala Fauna is an American artist, musician, poet, and music producer. Fauna is the main member of the post-industrial music project uncertain.

<i>Within the Wires</i> Science fiction podcast

Within the Wires is a dramatic anthology podcast in the style of epistolary fiction. In the first season, the listener, a medical inmate at a place called the institute, receives guidance from the mysterious narrator of instructional relaxation cassettes. In the second season, an artist named Roimata Mangakāhia communicates with the listener through a series of museum audio guides. The third season, "a political thriller set in 1950s Chicago", is narrated by the bureaucrat Michael Witten; listeners access letters and notes dictated to his secretary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Read (executive)</span>

Albert Read is the managing director of Condé Nast Britain, overseeing titles and businesses including British Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, GQ Style, Tatler, Condé Nast Traveller, Glamour, Wired UK, Love, House & Garden, World of Interiors, and Condé Nast Johansens.

"Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience™" is a short story written by Rebecca Roanhorse and published in the August 2017 issue of Apex Magazine. The story was well-received, and it won the 2017 Nebula and the 2018 Hugo short story awards. Her first professionally published work of speculative fiction, the story also earned Roanhorse the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

References

  1. See Portrait of Vale Hamanaka/V. Vale Archived 2016-12-01 at the Wayback Machine at www.brautigan.net.
  2. Kenneth Goldsmith, Duchamp Is My Lawyer: The Polemics, Pragmatics, and Poetics of UbuWeb , Columbia University Press, New York, pp. 256-260
  3. George Kuchar on The Counter Culture Hour. Vimeo. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  4. Valeries Estes, Email to John F. Barber, 5 February 2007, as quoted in 'American Dust: Richard Brautigan's life and writing' http://www.brautigan.net/chronology1960.html Archived 2016-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Search for Weird: Interviews with V. Vale, author Krusty Wheatfield, 2016
  6. "Person Details for Mary Takaoka, "United States Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946"". FamilySearch.org. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  7. "Mary Hamanaka (born Takaoka (Taka))". Worldvitalrecords.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  8. "A Life Lived: Her story had plenty of drama, Hollywood-style ~ K.P.Kollenborn". Kpkollenborn.blogspot.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  9. onioneye. "The 'Double Life' of Journalist-Turned-Actor Conrad Yama (Hamanaka) « Writing & Democracy" . Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  10. "The Shamrock Texan (Shamrock, Tex.), Vol. 33, No. 86, Ed. 1 Monday, August 17, 1936, Sequence: 2 - The Portal to Texas History". Texashistory.unt.edu. 17 August 1936. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  11. onioneye. "The 'Double Life' of Journalist-Turned-Actor Conrad Yama (Hamanaka) « Writing & Democracy" . Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  12. V. Vale of RE/Search Publications, interviewed by Henry Rollins. Vimeo. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  13. 1 2 May 21, Emma Silvers; May 21, 2020Updated; 2020; Pm, 4:44. "Punk publisher V. Vale looks to post-pandemic world in 'Lockdown Lullabies'". Datebook | San Francisco Arts & Entertainment Guide. Retrieved 2020-05-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. "V. Vale Interview". Chuckpalahniuk.net. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  15. "Videos from LAZF's V. Vale interview by Henry Rollins". Lazinefest.com. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  16. Sterling, Bruce (September 30, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search newsletter #165". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  17. Sterling, Bruce (October 12, 2017). "Welcome to V. Vale's RE/SearchNewsletter #166". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 11 October 2017.
  18. Sterling, Bruce (October 18, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search Newsletter #167, October 2017 Part 2". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  19. Sterling, Bruce (November 10, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search Newsletter #168". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  20. Sterling, Bruce (November 17, 2017). "V. Vale's RE/Search Newsletter #169, Part Two". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  21. Sterling, Bruce (December 2, 2017). "WELCOME TO V. VALE's RE/SEARCH NEWSLETTER #170, December 2017". Wired . Condé Nast . Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  22. "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within | Our Films | Independent Lens | PBS". Independent Lens. Retrieved 2020-05-24.