ZINESTER Interview with Russell Ouellett

Getting ever closer to the big day. We still have a few interviews to share with you. Say hello to Russell Ouellett!


When did you make your first zine, and what was it about?

It's embarrassing but I my first zine was a mammoth full letter-sized 50 plus page ode to marijuana appropriately titled, "From Weed to Weed."  I made it some time in the mid-nineties and still have the original somewhere... maybe I'll print a fresh run for all the cannabis aficionados in ABQ.

Please tell us about the zines you’ll be tabling at ABQZF.

For ABQZF I found a love pink suitcase that I've been slowing filling with whatever zine-ish stuff I can find in my studio.  I'll have a bunch of poetry zines and some little zine journals. 

What do you say when someone asks you,  "What are zines?"

Zines are DIY or even better DIT (Do It Together) self-published magazines printed on computer/copier paper that usually present some useful yet banal information, challenge the status quo, self-promote, or are simply l'art pout l'art.


Name three influences in your life that have affected your work, or even how you work.

That's a tough question for me.  I'm mostly inspired all the time in a vicious cycle of desperation and re-inspiration, especially by the anonymous anarchist artists taking REAL Bullets and Machetes fighting the white power hegemony, while I sit cozily in my tower of privilege... But If I have to name names I'm going to say, "today I'm super inspired by LA funk musician and Stones Throw recording artist DAM-FUNK, Swedish collective Teenage Engineering, and the Navajo Nihígaal bee Iiná."


Do you have a zine crush? If so, are you willing to reveal the object of your zine affection?

My zine crush is on a bunch of zines I just picked up from the Taala Hoogan peeps at a local fundraiser for those affected by the Gold King Mine tragedy/spill.

What's the most challenging thing about zine making? What do you enjoy most about the process?

Getting the pages lined up in order... it makes my brain seize up and sometimes leak out my ears...


Why are zines important?

Making zines is a relatively cheap, self-reflexive practice that is usually a healing way to go about your daily life.

Thanks, Russell! 

ZINESTER Interview with TAHNEE UDERO

Please tell us about the zines you’ll be tabling at ABQZF.

The most recent one is called High Mija. It’s a female stoner zine that incorporates culture and identity. The first issue is a combination of personal memories, family photos, recipes, and pop culture. The second one is a collaborative issue with submissions from Chicanas from across the US about our adolescent marijuana experiences. It will be released the day [of] fest.

Another one I’ll have is a reprint of the girl gang issue of my teen movie zine Desperate Youth. The third installment is still in the works I swear. I was hoping to have it completed but it’s not done yet. I reached out to the amazing Robin Eisenberg and has agreed to do the cover! I will definitely make merch with whatever she comes up with.

When did you make your first zine, and what was it about?

The first one I made was a mini-zine out of a folded sheet of paper. It was mostly images I gathered to go with a cassette I released for my solo noise project TAHNZZ. Once I had all my photos I think it took me all of ten minutes to put together. It’s the perfect size for anyone new to making them.

Name three influences in your life that have affected your work, or even how you work.

They can be summed up as feminism, culture, and my Nana. I give her credit anytime I make or do something creative. My Nana taught me about crafts, design, style, and being resourceful among other things. After I started making zines I went back to her scrapbooks and photo albums and realized that a lot of things she made for our family reunions look like a page from a zine and were made with a copier. I used a flyer she made for our first reunion as a page in High Mija. I like that I am able to incorporate her work with my own even if she is no longer with me.

What do you say when someone asks you,  "What are zines?"

Something you publish yourself. They can be about anything and look like basically anything. They provide freedom and something that you can bring a lot of creativity and expression to. This week I saw a zine size I had never seen before, a triangle. I love what people come up with.

Do you have a zine crush? If so, are you willing to reveal the object of your zine affection?

I definitely do! I get really excited about all the women of color making radical zines right now. I am extremely inspired by the work of the women involved with St. Sucia, Chingozine, Cosmica, Ms Malcriada aka Suzy X, and CHIFLADAzine to name a few.

What's the most challenging thing about zine making? What do you enjoy most about the process?

I have so many ideas for zines. It can be hard to start and most of the time they aren’t fully fleshed out but I try and start anyway. If I’m committed to my idea they will eventually come together, and sometimes you just have to start small. I have limited access to a printer and copier but once that is worked out the process is fun for me. I like designing the layout and cut and pasting my way through the whole thing. If there is frustration it is usually at the copying end.

I’ve only been making zines for a couple of years but the medium really speaks to me. Now that I have found them I will continue to collect and make more. I have some personal zines in mind that will use the old family photos and documents I have to tell my family’s story and my own. The challenge for me is deciding what to work on and making sure I give some time to different projects. It took me a long time to figure out what I’m really interested in and good at. Now that I have I want to keep all those wheels turning.  

Why are zines important? There is a long and short answer to this and I’ve learned more about their historical importance over time. Mostly I think they are a great way to share your story. There is not a lot of room for small ideas and voices, at least the world doesn’t make you feel like there is. It doesn’t seem like there is space for you to be heard too. Zines give you that space. Thanks, Tahnee! 

ZINESTER Interview with: DIAHNDRA of JUSTWRITE

Hello zine friends! We're a mere FIVE DAYS from ABQZFV. Gulp. No, no-- everything's fine (revived by smelling salts). We're excited to bring you more interviews this week. We hope you've enjoyed catching up some of the zinesters you'll meet next Saturday. 

Today, we'd like to introduce you to Diahndra of JustWrite-- an organization that uses zines to champion social justice.


Please tell us about the zines you’ll be tabling at ABQZF.    

The zines JustWrite will be tabling at ABQZF are literary and visual art zines, including art work and poetry by our gente in prison and those who are returning citizens.  These zines tell our stories, reflecting on where we've been, where we are, and where we're going.


When did you make your first zine, and what was it about?  

The first JustWrite zine was created in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Detention Center in 2012.  The zine holds our stories - our experiences, where we come from (place, family, culture) our struggles, our inspirations and achievements and covers themes of incarceration, addiction, state and domestic violence.          

                       
Name three influences in your life that have affected your work, or even how you work.  

Our influences are each other, ourselves and the community surrounding us.


What do you say when someone asks you,  "What are zines?" 

 An underground magazine, for us, by us.  A medium in which we can speak to the world and share with the world with no censorship.  A place where we can tell our own stories and deconstruct the way media portrays us, as well as deconstruct issues of race, gender, class, etc.


Do you have a zine crush? If so, are you willing to reveal the object of your zine affection?

We still have so much to learn about zines, but we love local zinesters because they encourage the publication and sharing of zines and accessibility to arts and culture in our community.  We love Marya and all she's done for the growth of the zine culture in Nuevo.  We love zines that have revolutionized the way we view ourselves and the world around us.  The zines that speak the truth, bring awareness and cover real issues affecting us and the world around us.


What's the most challenging thing about zine making? What do you enjoy most about the process?

 For us, the most challenging thing about making a zine is fitting everything we want to say at the time we're creating a zine into one publication.  Our zines we make collectively are typically bigger and contain more content than your average zine.  This increases the cost of reproducing the zines, however, we don't want to leave anything or anyone's voice out.   The thing we most enjoy is there is no limitation in making a zine; we can express anything we want to express and it's coming from a real place inside ourselves and how we view the world and experience the world.

Workshop participant showing his zine pride.

Why are zines important?  

Zines are important to us because they are a vehicle for change and also a reflection of ourselves and the revolution that is happening inside of us.  Zines allow us to be journalists and share our lived experiences and learn about the lived experiences of others.  For us, zines are a journey in which we come together and tell our stories.  When we're creating a zine, we're opening ourselves up to the world through creative expression and this creates awareness around our situation and it's also an avenue to get our stories out there.

Thanks, JustWrite! 

ZINESTER Interview with: NOT LIKE YOU FANZINE

Hey! 

Wow, it's the last day in September. Things are getting REAL. Legit. Check out zinester interview number three with Not Like You Fanzine.

Please tell us about the zines you’ll be tabling at ABQZF.

I will have issues of my zine Not Like You. It covers punk,hardcore, skateboarding and pretty much anything else I find interesting. I will have issues 2,3,4 and the photo special available. Each issue consists of interviews, record reviews, scene news, photos etc etc  Issue 2 even comes with a 7" compilation record. The interviews include Backtrack, Praise, SNFU, The Faction, Ian Mackaye, BL'AST, Final Conflict and a host of others.




When did you make your first zine, and what was it about?

I started Not Like You in early 2014. I needed a creative outlet and had done zines on and off since the Mid 80s. The first issue came out in March of 2014 and featured interviews with 2 members of OCHC band Done Dying, NJHC band Huge, Fred Hammer (a staple of the Southern California Hardcore scene) and Tony Rettman (author of Why Be Something That You're Not and NYHC Books.) It also included record reviews, news, some photos and more

Name three influences in your life that have affected your work, or even how you work.

My zine work has been influences by classic zines such as Schism, Run It, Boiling Point, No Answers, Hardware, Guillotine, and a host of others, Photographer Glen E. Friedman and his now classic My Rules fanzine, and long time zinester and author Aaron Cometbus.

What do you say when someone asks you,  "What are zines?"

Zines are similar to magazines only they have more heart and substance and usually cover way cooler subject matter.

Do you have a zine crush? If so, are you willing to reveal the object of your zine affection?

My lips are sealed.

What's the most challenging thing about zine making? What do you enjoy most about the process?

The most challenging thing for me is getting bands to return the interviews they commit to. I have 3 I'm still waiting to get back, one of which was sent in April of 2014. Punk rock is a lot of things, but timely apparently isn't one of them.

I enjoy everything about it. From doing the interviews, to writing record reviews to laying it all out and putting it together. It's creative from start to finish and is almost therapeutic for me to work on.

Why are zines important? 

Zines are just as important as small press books and comics, as it gives a voice to those who otherwise may not be able to publish if not for the platform we print in. They are windows to subject matter many may not be exposed to otherwise and personal zines are often outlets for the creators, that wind up touching the readers in different ways. Plus it so much cooler to sit down to read a zine than just click on a blog online.

So true.
Thanks, NOT LIKE YOU FANZINE