It’s (Your Name) Magazine #1

It may be something of a trifle, but the debut issue of Seattle’s It’s (Your Name) Magazine from ‘round about 1980 is a brief counterpoint to the popular conception of pre-grunge Seattle being solely slathered in speed metal and hardcore punk. You’d probably have to call this a no wave fanzine, if you’d call it anything at all – certainly its elliptical, cut-and-paste weirdness echoes both no wave-era NYC fanzines and some of the post-punk zines coming out of the UK at the time. Neither hardcore nor metal exists or rates in this world; its heroes are DNA, the Bush Tetras, Pink Section, Young Marble Giants, Joy Division and similar subjects.

A small co-ed team of editors and colleagues are behind this first and likely only issue, and supply the drawings, the word collages, and the strange pasted type that allows for words to hyphenate and fall off the page in all the wrong places. Kind of no wave, am I right? The DNA piece, “DNA stayed at my home”, is exactly that: a droll recounting of what they all talked about, who slept in which room, where they collectively went out to eat, and exciting information about Ikue Mori doing her laundry. DNA in Seattle in 1980 – it doesn’t really calculate for me, and yet the included loose-leaf entertainment guide promises upcoming shows in town by the Mo-Dettes, Delta 5, Cabaret Voltaire and Ultravox. You’d think we were in bleedin’ Sheffield.

The sole interview is with New York’ s Bush Tetras, who, along with the Au Pairs and Delta 5 were among my earliest favorite bands, once I discovered the left of the dial and college radio vis-a-vis KFJC. Clearly the bass-heavy, female-fronted post-punk sound scratched some primordial teenage itch I didn’t know I had, and I love all three bands to this day. The band are delighted to answer out-of-the-norm questions such as “What are the most irritating things people do?”, “Life without electricity?” and “Why don’t you live in Seattle?”. It turns out that one of the most irritating things that people do to Pat Place, Cynthia Sley and Laura Kennedy is confront them in the streets for being weirdos, calling them “Adams Family” or “Munsters” and asking them confused questions about their hair and clothes. It’s just like all of their fans who most likely were being called “Devo” around this time – hell, evenI got called Devo in junior high and high school for my tastes or lack thereof, and I looked and dressed like a Young Republican.  

And really, besides some tongue-in-cheek quizzes, a blank page, and a plea for advertisers, that’s about it for It’s (Your Name) Magazine #1. Of course it whets my appetite & piques my interest to want to know more about the editorial team here – Ray, Bev, Ken, Lembi, Charles, Janet and Thom – so if any Seattlites or those of you who might be deeply knowledgeable about the Seattle post-punk scene of 46 goddamn years ago have any skinny about it all, can you please just let Fanzine Hemorrhage’s dozen-plus readers know in the comments?