Maximum Rock 'N' Roll
Maximum Rock'N'Roll was a long running widely distributed zine available worldwide. Whilst it's paper zine finally finished in May 2019, the collective stil runs MRR as a website. It is dedicated to supporting and reporting on the underground punk rock scene.
History
Maximum Rock'N'Roll began as a radio show in 1977 on San Francisco's public radio station KPFA. It was a punk rock show hosted by DJs Tim Yohannan and Jeff Bale. Besides playing music, Yohannan and Bale invited punk musicians and fans into the studio, regulars on the show included Ruth Schwartz (owner of Mordam distribution) and Jello Biafra (of the Dead Kennedys). The radio show still runs to this day.
Maximum Rock'N'Roll zine first appeared in 1982 as the newsprint booklet included in the "Not So Quiet on the Western Front" compilation LP, released on Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles. The format of MRR was modeled to some extent after Tim Tonooka's Ripper zine. The zine included band interviews, columns, reviews, and scene reports from around the U.S. With Yohannan at the helm as editor/zine coordinator, MRR blossomed into a thick monthly newsprint zine with wide distribution (due in no small part because of it's distribution through Mordam, which Yohannan and MRR supported in early its years). Throughout the 1980s and until the internet took off in the 1990s and 2000s, MRR was the essential networking, gossip, and news zine for punk musicians, fans, zine publishers, bookers, promoters, and independent labels. As publisher, Yohannan espoused DIY ethics and radical politics and used the zine to promote not only underground music, but his personal philosophy. These same ethics are still used to guide MRR's current business practices and policies.
Yohannan died of cancer in 1998. Jen Angel (Clamor and Fucktooth) was trained as coordinator by Yohannan while he was ill. Angel was asked to leave the magazine not long before Yohannon died in April of 1998, with Jacqueline Prichard and Mark Murrmann (Sty Zine) taking over as co-coordinators. Through the years that followed, a number of different people have served as zine coordinator, including: Arwen Curry (Ration), Sean Sullivan, Andrew Scott, Mike Thorn, Paul Curran, Golnar Nikpour (Square One Again), Chris Hubbard, Cissie Scurlock, Layla Gibbon (Chimps), Mariam Bastani and Grace Ambrose.
MRR published 432 issues without ever missing a month. The zine featured a wealth of interviews, articles, news, music and zine reviews, columns, and scene reports each month. MRR has also released a number of records and photo zines, as well as a book by Brian Edge detailing the history of the DIY all ages show space 924 Gilman St.
Long-time contributor Jeff Bale, whose right-wing political turn was at odds with the long-time politics of the magazine, latered started Hit List.
The website has a regular zine reviews column with international zinesters reviewing new zines.
Notable zinesters who have written for Maximum Rock 'N' Roll
Jen Angel (Fucktooth), Jerod Pore (Poppin' Zits), Al Quint (Suburban Voice), Anonymous Boy (Homopunk World), Jeff Bale, Brontez (Fag School), Mike BS (Bullshit Monthly), Aaron Cometbus, Eugene Chadbourne, Gordonzola, Bill Florio (Greedy Bastard), Mike LaVella (Gearhead),John Marr (Murder Can Be Fun),Sam McPheeters, Mimi Nguyen (Evolution of a Race Riot), Sean Sullivan, Mike Taylor (Scenery), Jim Testa (Jersey Beat), Matt Wobensmith (Outpunk), Al Quint, Will Butler (Fastcore Photos), Mitzi Waltz (Incoherent House), Osa Atoe (Shotgun Seamstress), Chris Boarts (Slug & Lettuce), (Mattilda aka Matt Bernstein Sycamore), Josh Medsker (Noise Noise Noise. Twenty-Four Hours), DX (Distort), Alex Ratcharge (Ratcharge), Tony Gunnarsson (More Noize / Distort Hackney) and Ben Weasel (Panic Button).
Notable writers and artists for Maximum Rock 'N' Roll
Ace Backwords, Jennifer Blowdryer, Lily Burana, Bill Florio, Bryony Beynon, Lefty Hooligan, Mel Cheplowitz, Cynthia Connolly, John Crawford, Fly, Mike LaVella, Larry Livermore, Reverend Norb, Pushead, Ted Rall, Bruce Roehrs, Allan McNaughton, Ariel Awesome, Kat Case (Snapshots), Felix Von Havoc, Brace Belden, Mykel Board and George Tabb.
Zines Specials
Over the years in addition to other regular special issues (the Queer issue, year end top tens etc) there has been the occasional zines special issue.
The May 2016 Zines Special Issue #396 [1] included Another Subculture, General Speech, Cretins of Distortion, NUTS!, Fluke fanzine, As you were, Not Shit, Mierda and the Finnish Fanzine Archive.
External Links
- MRR's Official Website
- Zine Reviews on the MRR website
- MRR Archive - buy and read old issues as PDF now online
- Some MRR scanned issues available at the Internet Archive
