March/April 2001
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Anti/Matters Magazine March/April 2001 |
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So this, at least for now, is going to be it. Not that it’s been anything but fun being a part of making the zine on the scene for the last eight months, and reading it for years before this, but it’s time for A/M to at least take a little hiatus. The scene that used to exist primarily, if not completely, within the confines of the Sidewalk Cafe has grown and evolved in directions that exceed what most of us would have expected two or three years ago. Sure, the Fort is still the center of the action, and Monday nights (as well as Wednesdays at the Raven) continue to be SRO affairs (thanks to the recognition by the larger rags like Time Out and the Village Voice of Joie DBG’s and Lach’s tireless work in keeping those institutions alive), and more new people are flooding into the scene and learning what being a working songwriter is all about. But now many of the bands that got their start on Tuesday Nights are playing much bigger places. Antifolk and Avenue A-list acts are regularly playing (and filling) venues all over the area now, from the Mercury Lounge to Luna, from CBGB to the Elbow Room, as well as soft-seat theaters and out-of-town clubs, and opening for national acts and, in more than a couple of cases, getting signed themselves. Olive Juice Music, Damn Fine Music and the Pro-Anti imprint have joined Fortified Records as consolidated presenters of many different acts from the scene. And as a result, many of those acts are getting way further along than they would alone. And the old joke about there being only oblivion north of 14th Street is no longer relevant neither. Not just the other four boroughs, but the punters of Long Island, New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and Upstate New York are regularly treated to touring East Village-based songwriters. We, as a scene, are succeeding. It’s fantastic. And yet A/M is having problems keeping up with your successes. We’ve been under no small amount of mental strain trying to keep this all going, as well as furthering our own careers (isn’t that why we’re all here?), and on a personal note, what with all the little things that sometimes snowball into big things, I’ve been finding that A/M has taken a back seat to merely maintaining my own sanity. I’m aware that this is not a popular tack. I’d be pissed at me too if I were you. But the fact is, the scene is very well covered these days, especially compared to the wasteland that greeted the first few years of A/M. Time Out, the Voice and NY Press all write about this happenings here on Avenue A regularly now, and other local rags like the Hangover, the Waste and Shout are giving plenty of column space to our scene and the people that make it. None of this was true even two years ago. Out of town publications, like Good Times, the Inside Connection and The Island Ear are looking at us consistently now. Our own Jon Berger and Janet Vodka’s Kris Sour contribute regularly to Shout, a glossy, classy, free monthly with a real honest-to-god budget and circulation that dwarfs anything that A/M could ever manage. So why stop now, just when everything’s coming up roses? Because quite frankly, we weren’t doing a very good job at holding up our end. We don’t have the regular circulation or the distribution channels required to do this job properly. We were missing a lot more than we were covering in the scene, and a lot of you aren’t happy about it, and you shouldn’t be. So here’s the plan. We’re taking A/M off the books for a while and figuring out what it is, if anything, we actually can do properly to do some kind of service that you, the reader, could use, as well as we can actually produce without drying us out. Also, I gotta deal with my personal shit, which has derailed everything (A/M included). Once we deal with all these things, we’ll be back, probably in a significantly changed form. Until then, though, all the back issues will be online here (Jon Berger & I are working on getting all the back issues up), and in a couple of months, you can expect something much more fitting for the exploding scene that is the East Village to fill the space that A/M used to. So I want to thank you for giving the zine on the scene as much love and life as you did. I hope you enjoy this issue, and let’s spend a little time figuring out where to go from here. Thanks. Tony Hightower, Editor На сайте нашего предприятия недвижимость в черногории от застройщика за 1055 - заходите . На вебсайте нашей конторы земельные участки в италии до 1066 - заходите . http://slotsstrategyguide.com is the best place where you cand find all necessary information. |
 Inside Antimatters this Month: Note: There were a couple of pieces that didn't make it into the print edition of the zine, basically because I'm a putz. Randi Russo's most recent piece and the CD Review of The Voyces' Ups and Downs of Masturbation (as well as whatever else I've missed) will be printed here shortly. Hang on, and read the other stuff for now! Diane Cluck: The Art of Personal Philosophy Michael Perazzetti takes a poke at the enigma that is Diane Cluck. The Second Last Word on the Oscars Melissa Zajk's buildup piece is still way relevant and crackles with more wit and insight than the entire telecast did (except maybe for Steve Martin's bits) Report From The Fort Brer Brian's CD Release, Mike iLL, Annie Golden on Broadway, The Last Dodo, The Overdevelopment of Scott, and Joie DBG's brithday party. CD Reviews This month: Brer Brian, Rob Getschmann, Celia, Diane Cluck and Barry Bliss. |
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All Contents © their respective authors. ©2000, 2001 Anti/Matters / A/M. All rights reserved. Feel free to link to us, but please let us know. Feedback and other contributions are most welcome. Thanks for reading. |
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