Razorcake reviews the stowaways issues #3 and #4

Razorcake #67 April - May 2012

reviewed the stowaways issues three and four.

STOWAWAYS, THE #3, #4, $?,

11" x 8 1/2", 12 pgs. each.

Two issues here of a Southern California punk fanzine with a terrible, frustrating layout/binding. Multiple double-sided pieces of paper stacked on top of each other, then stapled a few times along the left side. So the pages rip out easily and a lot of the content that runs along the left edges gets bound to each other -- not so readable. In many ways, this zine has a lot of stuff going for it. THe semis-local focus here is a good way to ground a music-based fanzine and give it its own flavor. The editor clearly has a fair amount of steam under his ass (he mentions that the four issues out thus far came out this year). Mainly his efforts take the form of band interviews, here with Summer Vacation, Loughton, and Joyce Manor. The interviews have a nice, conversational feel to them, but the questions are pretty ho-hum. Like, separate band interviews that almost read as interchangeable. (So, you singed to this semi-big punk record label? What's that like? You like that label a lot, right?). It seems like this guy is capable of digging deeper into these bands, and could make for a very good interviewer, but as it stands I'm not compelled. -Dave Brainwreck

(The Stowaways, 5082 Wendover Road, Yorba Linda, CA 92886)

MRR reviews the stowaways issue #5

Maximum Rocknroll #347-APR-2012

reviewed the stowaways issue number five. pick up a copy.

THE STOWAWAYS #5 January 2012 / $1

8.5 X 11 - copied - 20 pgs

Complete with show and record reviews, Media Blitz tour journal, letter section, and an interview with Creatures. Christopher accepts tapes, records, and CD for review, so feel free to send them in. Show reviews consist of musings about how a band's "drum set really sucks" or a venue being "the lamest frat boy college bar." My recommendation would be to talk more about the music versus how dumb you think a band's a name is... but on the flip side, the music reviews are spot on. There is a heavy focus on mundane details like the aforementioned from the reviews, but the reviews give a clear picture of what a record will sound like. I undertand this zine is on the newer side, so keep it up. (AE) Amelia Eakins

Christopher Gordon / 5082 Wendover Road / Yorba Linda, CA 92886

MRR reviews the stowaways issue #4

Maximum Rocknroll #346-MAR-2012

reviewed the stowaways issue number four. pick up a copy.

THE STOWAWAYS #4 / $1

8.5 X 11 - Copied - 9pgs

This zine briefly documents a scene that I try and avoid, you know, the whole cutesy, pop-punk, kinda-folky, make you feel like you're at your six year old cousin's birthday party type of thing. So, maybe, I'm a little biased. But, honestly, I found The Stowaways to be a little on the boring side. The interview with Joyce Manor, which pretty much only covers the fact that the band doesn't like how their recordings sound and what records they like, while simultaneously serving at the centerpiece of the issue, resembles an awkward, small-talky conversation that doesn't seem to go anywhere. Even the record reviews made me feel out of the loop and isolated. For instance, the author describes one band as a "punk version of Jack Johnson," which to me sounds quite frightening. But, hey, what do I know?It's quite possible that someon who enjoys the kind of music covered in this stack of papers wouldn't be so harsh. (KR)

The Stowaways / 5082 Wendover Rd. / Yorba Linda, CA / 92886 /

romancandlesmusic@gmail.com

MRR reviews the stowaways issue #3

Maximum Rocknroll #345-FEB-2012

reviewed the stowaways issue number three. pick up a copy.

THE STOWAWAYS #3 / $? ppd /

8.5 X 11 - copied - 10 pgs

This is a very short music zine featuring interviews with Loughton and Summer Vacation plus a handful of album reviews. The interviews suffer a bit from a disorienting layout, but the Loughton interview is particularly funny. It reads like a half-baked discussion of food and music between a group of witty high-schoolers. The Summer Vacation interview could use some heavy editing, most of the discussion is borderline useless and not particularly compelling, but at one quarter of the length it wouldn't be such a bore. The record reviews are earnest, but lackluster. If the best parts of this zine were isolated, they would probably fill about four pages, and it would be a great start. (SL) Sam Lefebvre

5082 Wendover Rd / Yorba Linda CA / 92886 romancandlesmusic@gmail.com

MRR reviews the stowaways issue #2

Maximum Rocknroll #344-JAN-2012

reviewed the stowaways issue number two. pick up a copy.

THE STOWAWAYS #2/$1

8.5 X 11 - copied - 7 pgs

Call it blatant localism (I slay me), but when I saw that this was from Orange County I felt flaccid already. Sorry bros. This is basic fanzine layout, interviews, live reviews, record reviews, one two three all in a row. The interview is with Sean Bohrman of THEE MAKEOUT PARTY and Burger Records. The author (chris) and Sean are friends it seems from the way the interview came out. In this case, this works in a positive way, effectively drawing stories out of Sean about off topic stuff. The lie reviews are okay, but I feel that Chris gets bogged down recounting what songs the bands he likes played, and that made it drag for me a little. The reviews are small zine reviews, which means you get to hear about what the author likes. Two problems with this zine: Uno) the layout looks kinda bad, sloppy in a boring way, photos are all really small, and the text isn't laid out in an exciting way (it can be done): Dos) the zine is put together kinda poorly and was made a little harder to read because of it. But the content is solid. DO you wanna Know about the Orange County scene? (LP) Langford Poh

Christopher Gordon / 5082 Wendover Rd / Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Razorcake reviews the stowaways issue #1

Razorcake #66 February-March 2012

reviewed the stowaways issue number one. pick up a copy. or read HERE.

STOWAWAYS, THE #1, $1,

8 1/2" x 11", copied, 8 pgs.

The first issue of this full-size zine from Yorba Linda, California has show reviews, a tour journal with a member of the band Tiny Lungs, an interview with The Henry Clay People, and record reviews. I don't know anything about the Henry Clay People, but found the interview to be engaging and informative, which is saying a lot for the first issue of a zine. The layout is typical cut and paste. On the whole, it's nothing spectacular but it reminded me a lot of my first zine I did half a lifetime ago (but with no Christian content), which made it endearing. And for a buck, you really can't argue. - Kurt Morris (The Stowaways, 5082 Wendover Road, Yorba Linda, CA 92886)

MRR reviews the stowaways issue #1

Maximum Rocknroll #343-DEC-2011

reviewed the stowaways issue number one. pick up a copy.

THE STOWAWAYS #1/$1

8.5 x 11 - copied - 9 pgs

First issue of a zine that will hopefully get better with future issues. The show reviews are lengthy, but the writing style is bland and fails to capture the author's excitement. His below-average tour diary manages to make the experience sound more mundane than it probably was, and the interview with a member of the The Henry Clay People, which uses zero line breaks and is therefore irritating to read. The record reviews are surprisingly good and capture the feeling of each release, but it's too little too late. The layout is basically too-dark pictures and large blocks of text thrown onto a black background at a copy shop, and while I'm still glad this wasn't done on a computer, it leaves a lot to be desired. (DG) Dan Goetz

c/o Christopher Gordon/5082 Wendover Road/Yorba Linda, CA 92886

romancandlesmusic@gmail.com