YAZ 6

Welcome, to July ‘98 and “Ish 6”. It’s a devilishly good one! The bandwagon rolls ever onwards. This time round we have three interviews conducted on the same evening, at a gig which showed that great bands do exist in the UK, and are suitably diverse. But three in one evening tests my brain cells a little more than they can cope with, so the questions may be samey and crap. So sue me, or do a zine yourself, and send me a copy to show me how it’s done.

But anyway, part of the reasoning going into this set of interviews, and indeed in a number of future interviews (I can say this safely, because as I type this the interviews have already been done) the focus is on whether UK bands get a far deal in the UK compared with their American counterparts. I think not.

I’m not putting down on American bands at all, after all, I guess they’ve fairly dominated this zine, and there are many, many great bands coming from the States. But irrespective, a good band should get equal coverage and respect, no matter where they’re from. And I don’t think that happens here. From the music industry, press etc, through to the fans.

An Amercian band plays here, and the gigs are packed and people go wild. A UK band plays, and they’re in smaller, still half empty venues, with a polite distance between band and crowd being kept. Why? Well, for me it’s cos I can’t dance, won’t dance. But others? I don’t know. Ok, I do, but I don’t want to accuse a nation of apathy, even if it is guilty of apathy!

So, I was looking to see what the UK bands think. They’re ‘kin ace. They deserve your support. It’s no good whinging about the state of the UK scene. It’s healthy, it’s out there. It may not be shoved in your faces by the press, but, the truth is out there.

Go and take a look for yourselves. Take a recorder, do an interview, start a zine, and show me how to do this thing properly. If I can get to six issues, then you can get to 10.

Oh yeah, and you’re going to need patience to read this all the way through. Yes, the interviews are long, some may say that I should use some quality control. I say that I want to try and give a real picture of what’s happening. I want bands to have a fair and equal chance to say something.

It doesn’t matter if they’re five albums into their career, or on the first demo. Basically, if a band gives two word answers, then that’s the space they get. If they decide to talk for 45 minutes, (yes, that’s you OMS) then that’s the space they get.

So, there may be long interviews by bands you’ve not heard of. Persever with it. Part of the intent of this zine is to give you something new to read, to look out for. It’s one of the fun things about music.

There’s always something new. And sometimes things are better new. Before the cynicism has set in. When the hunger is there, the excitement and energy. The time when you can talk to them. See a gig for under a tenner. Still amazes me that people will (rightly) moan about having to pay 10 or 12 quid to see a gig, but then don’t bother with all those small ones that cost under a fiver. Prioritise.

Oh yeah, and I should add that this is the biggest ever YAZ. 52 pages. so you get more crap for free than ever before.