Making a zine changed my life. It was called ZYZXX and I billed it as “a humor and music ‘zine for the thinking cynic.” When I look back, I realize that I have been doing some form of a zine since I was ten. Starting in 4th grade my friend and I would draw mazes and word search puzzles, staple them together in book form, and give them to each other. We called them “Funbooks.” Fifteen years later, ZYZXX, my first conscious attempt to make a fanzine, became my lifeforce. In the process I found purpose, motivation, inspiration, community and had a blast doing it. It was a creation that reflected who I aspired to be, who I was in the moment, and most definitely shaped the person I became.
The desire to do a zine came about for two reasons. One, I wanted to write about the bands I liked. I was doing some rock writing as a freelancer and got tired of slogging through reviews and interviews with bands the editors thought were newsworthy. I went out to see music almost every night and had discovered a whole world of bands I felt were overlooked because they weren’t a part of the “cool” indie scene or “creating a buzz” with doofus A&R people.
The second reason I started a zine was because I wanted to be a part of the music scene. I longed to be friends with the musicians that were moving me with their music. I thought these people were so cool, and didn’t have the confidence to just introduce myself and make connections that way. I needed something I felt was a worthy contribution to the magic of the moment. I also felt the importance of documenting the scene! Holding a stack of zines in my hand and handing them out to people in clubs was a social crutch and a bridge to forging friendships.
ZYZXX was a quarterly publication. I did 11 issues total from Spring of 1996 to Fall of 2001. When digging through my archives to get material for what I intended to include in this Substack, I rediscovered a folder for an unpublished 12th issue. Most of the material was bits and scraps of ideas in note form. Hysterically a majority of it was me snarking about people on their cell phones.
There were also a few letters I wrote to the psychic Miss Cleo, who I adored, in response to SPAM emails I got from her.
But most excitingly, tucked away and forgotten in this folder, was something I completely forgot I did. An email interview with THE GOSSIP!!! I can’t let this die in darkness so I am going to finally publish it here for all of you twenty-one years later. In regards to punctuation, spelling, etc I transcribed it exactly as received. My questions are in italics.
JEN HITCHCOCK’S UNPUBLISHED EMAIL INTERVIEW WITH THE GOSSIP:
Friday May 10, 2002, 11:45 AM
yo, here are our answers for yr fanzine… gossip loves fanzines…long live punks…
1. If you were going to do an infomercial for this CD, describe to me what it would be like.
IT WOULD BE A ROOM FULL OF PUNX (total 79 era punx with mohawks) DOING THE GRAPPLE LISTENING TO THE RECORD. IT WOULD BE PITCHED AS THE “ULTRA” PUNK RELEASE OF THE YEAR.
2. Mrs. Garrett or Mrs Roper?
DEFINITELY MRS. GARRETT. DEFINITELY!!
3. What made you name your band The Gossip?
BECAUSE IT WAS THE WORST NAME WE COULD COME UP WITH. THE ALTERNATE TITLES WERE:
penguin fukkers.
reagen youth. (i know it's already a band, but, such a good name).
fuck fuck fucking.
destroy all
4. At a party, which of the members of your band is:
Scoping out the action
Dancing on the kitchen counter
Playing drinking games
Checking out the CD and book collection of the host?
AT THE PARTY BRACE IS THE DJ AND HE’S PLAYING THE RAMONES AND THE FALL, KATHY IS WASTED OUT OF HER MIND AND PISSING ON ANNOYING DUDES AND BETH IS THROWING UP IN THE BATHROOM AND LATER SHE PROCEEDS TO DANCE ON THE COUNTER AND BEGINS TO SPIT ON EVERYONE.
5. What is the dirtiest thing that an audience member has ever done during one of your live shows?
GIVEN US ALL ORAL SEXX WHILE WE WERE ON STAGE.
6. What is the sweetest thing a fan has ever done for The Gossip?
GIVEN US ALL ORAL SEXX WHILE WE WERE ON STAGE.
please send us a copy of this to k.r.s. When it comes out? thanks…
–love, gossip (the gang of 3=kathy/beth/brace).
GOSSIP = GHOSTS OF DARBY CRASH
❤️ thank you for reading!