A lot of what you say about trying in the blossoming of what came to be called “punk rock” to the birth of Punk Magazine will piss some people off. But I say, hey, that’s how I remember it too.
Wow! Fascinating stuff! Well, Harvey Kurtzman did say after our National Harpoon meeting that he was " throwing me to the wolfes," so I was aware that the Harpoon gig might happen or not. But yeah, it was not surprising to me when the deal fell apart. So much sleaze in the publishing industry back then. So thank you for the details!
And since I ended up doing a video games column for Heavy Metal magazine in the early 1980s? Yeah, I remember all that stuff as well. Lou Stathis was my editor at Heavy Metal, and we hired him to work at High Times a few years later.
The Ramones changed my life when I was 13 and saw Rock n Roll Highschool on UHF. It was 1988 and I never seen anything like them. All the bands I was into (Iron Maiden,DIO, Ozzy) had these long guitar solos and so on. The Ramones looked more like me and my friends and my parents liked them because they sounded like 60s pop rock. Most kids don't like enjoying music with their parents but I did. My Dad turned me on to SLADE, and my Mom was into the 60s girl groups so it was a good upbringing. Thanks for doing what you do.
I look forward to reading more of the creation of Punk magazine John. A suggestion to perhaps to add a link to the store graphic taking people to the merchandise so they can take advantage of your offer. If it is there it did not work for me. Keep it coming.
Fascinating stuff, John. I was in NYC at the time, in the comics scene but not the music one. I heard about the birth of a new outlet for comics, National Harpoon, put out by Lopez Publications, owned by Adrian Lopez, operating out of a building at 21 W. 26 Street, and started my Dope Rider strip in its pages. I don't think you would have had much of a chance to be hired as editor, as there was only one, and that spot was held by Adrian's stepson, Dennis Lopez. Hard to compete with nepotism. Similarly, the editor of Heavy Metal magazine was Julie Simmons, daughter of Matty Simmons, who had made his fortune as a partner in founding the first credit card, Diner's Club, and went on to create National Lampoon, among other highly profitable ventures.
A lot of what you say about trying in the blossoming of what came to be called “punk rock” to the birth of Punk Magazine will piss some people off. But I say, hey, that’s how I remember it too.
If you can't piss someone off, then you can't call yourself "punk," right?
Wow! Fascinating stuff! Well, Harvey Kurtzman did say after our National Harpoon meeting that he was " throwing me to the wolfes," so I was aware that the Harpoon gig might happen or not. But yeah, it was not surprising to me when the deal fell apart. So much sleaze in the publishing industry back then. So thank you for the details!
And since I ended up doing a video games column for Heavy Metal magazine in the early 1980s? Yeah, I remember all that stuff as well. Lou Stathis was my editor at Heavy Metal, and we hired him to work at High Times a few years later.
Yeah, I screwed up on the store link. Really sucks. Sorry, everyone, but I plan to send the next newsletter sooner than later. Please hang in there!
The Ramones changed my life when I was 13 and saw Rock n Roll Highschool on UHF. It was 1988 and I never seen anything like them. All the bands I was into (Iron Maiden,DIO, Ozzy) had these long guitar solos and so on. The Ramones looked more like me and my friends and my parents liked them because they sounded like 60s pop rock. Most kids don't like enjoying music with their parents but I did. My Dad turned me on to SLADE, and my Mom was into the 60s girl groups so it was a good upbringing. Thanks for doing what you do.
I look forward to reading more of the creation of Punk magazine John. A suggestion to perhaps to add a link to the store graphic taking people to the merchandise so they can take advantage of your offer. If it is there it did not work for me. Keep it coming.
Fascinating stuff, John. I was in NYC at the time, in the comics scene but not the music one. I heard about the birth of a new outlet for comics, National Harpoon, put out by Lopez Publications, owned by Adrian Lopez, operating out of a building at 21 W. 26 Street, and started my Dope Rider strip in its pages. I don't think you would have had much of a chance to be hired as editor, as there was only one, and that spot was held by Adrian's stepson, Dennis Lopez. Hard to compete with nepotism. Similarly, the editor of Heavy Metal magazine was Julie Simmons, daughter of Matty Simmons, who had made his fortune as a partner in founding the first credit card, Diner's Club, and went on to create National Lampoon, among other highly profitable ventures.