The Zine Nation

I’ve always had a love for and fascination with ‘zines. You know those little photocopied mini-magazines that you might often find on the counter at a record store or art gallery, or floating around the front door of the cooler (and I mean my sense of cool - not the Normies) clothing shops. Usually A5 or smaller in size, they are the perfect thing to read on your train-ride home. Oh and the name 'zine' comes from shortening the word magazine, simply chop off the ‘maga’ and voilà! Pretty good eh? In fact anything that gets rid of MAGA is fine by me… but let’s not go there.

The modern-day photocopied zine emerged during the Punk era of the late 1970s, largely credited to Sniffin’ Glue zine, and is a wonderful publishing tradition that continues on to this day. Originally filled with photos, interviews, reviews and all sorts of this and that related to the punk music scene these days ‘zines can be about anything from crochet to science to just showing off some cool illustrations. In fact the Cambridge dictionary defines a zine as “a small magazine that is produced cheaply by one person or a small group of people, and is about a subject they are interested in”. Brilliant!

One thing I really adore about ‘zines is the literal hand-made aesthetic that many of them have - from hand-drawn covers to a cut and paste ransom-note style design. They are often as chaotic in design as they are creative.

Another cool thing about ‘zines is their nomadic nature when it comes to where to find them. While some might be sold in shops as their creators try to cover the cost of printing so they can do the next issue, a lot of times ‘zine creators just leave their ‘zines to be picked up for free in various locations from record store counters to cafes to bus stops!

Over the years I’ve created several zines, with the first being my ‘Communication’ project when I was in Year 11 (in Australia this is the second last year of High School and a Communication project was at one time a big deal towards your grades). That particular ‘zine was hand-drawn and in it I got to interview some awesome local Melbourne bands - The Meanies and Tumblweed. This was a big deal for a 17-year old, and both bands graciously took time out to let me ask them some questions. I honestly don’t know many bands who would have done that and I will always be thankful. The teacher gave me a ‘C’ for that project, which really bugged me (still does obviously!) but to be honest in hindsight she was so straight that she wouldn’t have known what a ‘zine was or understood why it had the unpolished, shanked together aesthetic that it did. That was the style though - rough and ready and grass-roots-home-made! The fact that I was some ‘punk kid’ probably also didn’t help. After all, I lived in an area that was peak middle-class Australian and bathed in a palette of beige and brown. Uh, beige - it’s just such a bloody middle-of-the-road nothing colour. Anyway…

Back to the ‘zines, and years later after immersing myself in live-music culture, with many of my friends in brilliant bands such as Pet Earwig, Headcase, The Bloodsucking Freaks and so many more I would do more ‘zines. I also happened to work at a printer at the time and had free access to a photocopier (it used to cost 25 cents a page to print back in the day and on my shit wage, this was like finding purest green! Blackadder fans will know *wink). I wish I still had copies of those ‘zines. Years later when I started writing as a serious gig I would still create ‘zines for my short stories, and occasionally interview people for others.

Zines are awesome because aside from being wonderfully inspirational, they are super accessible and anyone can create one. That’s why it’s so great to have places like the Sticky Institute, which is the home and castle of Melbourne’s creative ‘zine scene. Not only is the Sticky Institute awesome because they offer cheap photocopying services, but they also provide advice and guidance for anyone wanting to start their own mini-publication. It’s just about the perfect resource if you’re wanting to start your own ‘zine. Plus every year they hold a ‘zine fair called Festival of the Photocopier, where you can not only check out and buy the latest ‘zines, but if you are a zine maker you can apply for your own stall to sell your ‘zine there! Pretty brilliant eh?