This Independence Day, in the spirit of Thomas Paine, I decided on printing my own pamphlet. I printed 100 double sided copies of hand-written rants to pass out to the people at the Pilot Knob fireworks display. I wrote it at around 1am, when I had to get up at 5:30am, and had done so that day as well; I think that inspired this somewhat. I thought people craved freedom at a time like this, however, they shun it as un-patriotic. I was escorted out of the park by City Police Officers. I suppose that freedom of press thing is a really complicated metaphor that I cannot comprehend. But, anyhoo, about 100 families got their hands on this. Whether or not they read it is a new question entirely. I had some handed back to me, one even called it "bullshit"; Which, it's not the most intelligent thing ever written-I kept it dumbed down to cater to an average redneck, I think. I wasn't looking to impress the average free-thinker. Click the images for a larger view.
This is turning into a monthly periodical! This is now issue two, one issue more than I've ever gotten to with any other zine I've made ... This will either prevail for fail miserably; leaving me in its aftermath, bruised, beaten, and an alcoholic. I found a place to get cheap copies at a locally owned business: Mineral Area Office Supply on Main Street in Park Hills. Double sided black and white copies for 7 cents, as compared to Office Max's 8 cents for a one sided b&w. They also cut them in half for me for free. Major cool points. I experimented with different binding for this issue; using everything from copper wire to safety pins ... I folded and stapled the last 14 or so. Stapling is the quickest, but sewing is stronger and way cooler ... if I only had a sewing machine .... I scanned a hard copy rather than re-typing everything. Now let's get down to the dirty stuff: Click Image For Large View! Also, if you want a copy of the print version ... hit me up at myspace.com/jimmy_2_times ---- Thanks for reading.
BACK STORY: I started my zine making career in January of 2007. I made a half size fanzine called POPulation Control - I reviewed records and restaurants, did an interview with myself, had a short story, a poem, and I guess some other stuff. It was 16 pages in length. I printed it for free in my printing class, and even got to turn it in as a project. I passed it around at shows and at a local coffee shop, and gave it to people at school. Later that year, I made a freesheet/newsletter type zine, it had articles on things relating to my local music scene. It was double sided and printed in purple ink. That was printed for free at school as well. I've attempted twice a second issue of POPulation Control, and have failed due to minor alcoholism and legal troubles. FAST FORWARD: May of 2008. My friend (http://www.myspace.com/deadpawns - check out his band!) send me a video detailing how to make a mini-zine out of one sheet of paper. I took this information to action and made the first issue of Small Town Pessimism in a little over one day. Here's the video, I encourage you to make one, it's fun. But, I'll warn you, folding and cutting large quantities gets very boring after a bit. I recommend some good friends to help and some good music in the background. Or maybe some cocaine. The upside is no staples are involved. The only cost is the paper and photocopying. And one sided black and white prints do not cost very much.
Thanks for reading - if you want a print copy, contact me, I'll send you one for free. If you wanna send your zine, cd, or some other cool gift, I'll accept that as well. And if it's reviewable, I'll review it. Expect Issue Two to be bigger (but still small as compared to other zines, small zine for a small town! It's a crappy theme, but I'm running with it) and be jam packed with content. And more hate than ever!
