Monday 16 January 2012

Article about Just One Life Collective by Alec Smart

Aussie ex-pat Alec Smart took masses of great photos at J.O.L. gigs, and can still be seen stage front snapping the action. This is an article he penned for a local paper on those heady days.... nice one Alec

Thursday 12 January 2012

OLD ISSUES; # 4 (2000)

The juggernaut was rolling, and for this issue there were a whole host of contributors; Murray The Beard, Steve Scanner, Big Graham, and Tom Craven (reporting on gig activity from his new home in Utrecht).

Another international collection of interviews, with Otherwise (UK), Where's The Pope? (Australia), Reducers S.F. (USA), Grade (Canada) - and a cracker (if I say it myself) with Mike Palm of Agent Orange, conducted on a park bench behind The Highbury Garage, before the band played their debut UK show - 04/09/99. Mike was a great guy, lots of stories, and their set that night was fantastic. I've still got the tee shirt, heh.

The travelogue (and front cover) saw Linda + I in Jordan for a 2 week adventure. A super fascinating trip for sure. A year later the events of 9/11 put this part of the world temporarily out of reach for independent travelling. But I've known many people who've visited in the past few years and all come back having had as positive an experience as us. Easyjet even flies to Amman these days... just do it... !!  

Issue # 4 was dedicated to our good friend, and original J.O.L. gig go-er Fraiser, who passed away suddenly in late '99. A sad episode indeed.

Monday 9 January 2012

OLD ISSUES; # 3 (1999)

Yeah, # 3, back up and running! I note in the intro I lament the recent passing of Turbonegro, who I was lucky to see the year before at The Garage Highbury. And I still stand by 'Apocalypse Dudes' being my favourite album of The Nineties, heh...

Interviews; Four Letter Word would be interviewed at least 3 times in Zonked! over the years (inc. their last ever interview in # 12) - this was the first one, conducted in their car, outside The Joiners Arms, Southampton, during an STE 2 Dayer. Those were the days! Whatever put out a cracking album on Dr Strange, played a gig at The Garage with Zoinks! and I nailed 'em down after their set. DM's was also at The Garage (12/98). I interviewed drummer Thomas from France's Burning Heads when they played The Albert, Brighton (10/98) and that was the start of a friendship with the band that persists to this day, and has included numerous trips across The Channel to see them gigging. Caustic Soda from Melbourne had a cracking EP out on (you guessed it) Crackle! Records and this, and SoCal's Bodies, were email Q&A's. The front cover is in Budapest, Hungary, and was the start of my Travelogues....
 

OLD ISSUES; # 2 (1995)

In typically random fashion, # 1 was an A4 (need to dig that one out) but I opted for A5 on # 2. This was the first time I got other people involved, with Darren Bourne contributing review and photos. And that marked a new phase of zine activity; we had started the Just One Life Collective to promote gigs in Brighton, and with Buz's encouragement I got working on Rigsby... (more on that to follow).... which we ended after 10 issues. At which point I returned to Zonked!

In this issue; Swingin' Utters was a phone interview, NZ's Loves Ugly Children (Flying Nun) was a face-to-face before a gig at the old Art College Basement. Deniz Tek (of Radio Birdman) was an old fashioned Q&A via airmail! Shelter was via email to their press office, as was the appalling one with Ben Weasel of The Riverdales. His answers were so short/crap that I ran the piece just to show how lazy he was. And finally... RKL. They replied on a grubby sheet of handwritten A4. I found the answers from singer Jason Sears in a box of artifacts a while ago. Poor guy died in '06 in Mexico whilst trying to kick drugs. Lifestyles huh!

Sunday 8 January 2012