Razorcake Reviews The Stowaways Issue #15

Razorcake reviewed the most recent issue of the The Stowaways. 

STOWAWAYS, THE #15, $2, 8 1/2" x 11", copied, 20 pgs. 
A guy's life, mainly told through the shows that he goes to. It's all there, from packed fest to empty room. "We took the 91 to the 55 to the 405, exited Euclid, parked at the Costco, walked across the street, walked down the bike path to bottom of the riverbed, and sat under the bridge waiting for the show to start." - Chris Terry (fuckthestowaways.blogspot.com)

Slingshot Reviews The Stowaways Issue #15

The Stowaways #15 ($2)

by Christopher Gordon

5082 Wendover Road

Yorba Linda, CA 92886

fuckthestowaways.blogspot.com

The Stowaways is a great punk zine because it's written by someone who goes to a fuckload of shows, so almost any DIY-minded (not necessarily just punk) band that passes through the Orange County / Los Angeles area has at least a passing chance at getting a show review. Unfortunately, the reviews aren't always very comprehensive (one act, for example, is acerbically dismissed as a 'fucking stupid band' with no further explanation), but the author's enthusiasm about the bands he loves often makes up for it. The zine also includes interviews with Elliot Babin (Dad Punchers, DNF, Touche Amore) and Kris Westreich (Collosal Wrecks) which was totally readable but sometimes suffered from Awkward-First-Date-itis (e.g. "Do you have any other siblings?") and a pleasantly incisive editorial about racism in the punk scene. I'll definitely be around for #16 (x.lenc) 

Roman Candles Summer Tour + Tape

TAPES ARE IN

BUY THEM HERE

Hey Everyone Roman Candles is going on TOUR this summer to play Plan-It-X Fest. I'll be heading there and back with my friend Calvin Jalandoni who plays in a one-man, psychedelic, noise band. I'm really looking forward to it. Avocado Records is also putting out Riley Versus Jason In The Battle Of Gracious Living on cassette tape. It's coming with a full color 5-panel j-card. These are the real deal. They ain't no burger tapes baby. You can now buy it HERE. It comes with a digital download to for all you Ipod-toting indie-crushers. 

The tour dates below: 

Thurs. June 12 – KCSB 91.9 FM “5432fun!!”
Fri. June 13 – KXLU 88.9 FM “Demolisten”
Sat. June 14 – Fullerton, CA @ Comic Book Hideout 
Sun. June 15 – Phoenix, AZ @ The Trunksapce
Mon. June 16 –  Denver, CO @ 7th Circle
Tues. June 17 – Omaha, NE
Wed. June 18 – Kansas City, Missouri @ Art Closet Studios
Thurs. June 19 – Chicago, IL w/ Justin Conway
Fri. June 20 – Indiana Plan-It-X Fest
Sat. June 21 – Indiana Plan-It-X Fest
Sun. June 22 - Indiana Plan-It-X Fest set time: 2:30 p.m.
Mon. June 23 – Nashville, TN
Tues. June 24 – Huntsville, AL @ 255 Pratt Ave.
Wed. June 25 – Mississippi
Thurs. June 26 – New Orleans, LA
Fri. June 27 – NOLA @ Mudlark
Sat. June 28 - NOLA
Sun. June 29 – Houston, TX @ Super Happy Fun Land
Mon. June 30 – Austin, TX
Tues. July 1 – El Paso, TX
Wed. July 2 – Albuquerque, NM
Thurs. July 3 – Tucson, AZ @ Gary's Place
Fri. July 4 – San Diego, CA @ The Che Cafe
Sat. July 5 – Fullerton, CA @ Programme Skate and Sound w/ Fugue
Sun. July 6 - KUCI 88.9 FM "Barbara Bush's Bathtime Breakdown"

Then I'm heading ON TOUR with Fugue: 

Sun. July 6th - Las Vegas, NV
Mon. July 7th - Provo, UT @ Muse Music Cafe
Tues. July 8th - Salt Lake City, UT
Wed. July 9th - Rexburg, ID @ Sammy's Sounds
Thurs. July 10th - Missoula, MT @ Ole Beck VFW Post 209
Fri. July 11th - Spokane, WA
Sat. July 12th - Seattle, WA @ Hollow Earth Radio
Sun. July 13th - Vancouver, BC (just Fugue)
Mon. July 14th - Seattle / Tacoma, WA
Tues. July 15th - Olympia, WA
Wed. July 16th - Portland, OR @ The Laughing Horse
Thurs. July 17th - Eugene, OR
Fri. July 18th - Arcata, CA @ The Birdhouse
Sat. July 19th - Bay Area, CA
Sun. July 20th - Santa Cruz/Santa Barbara, CA
Mon. July 21st - Los Angeles, CA

Humboldt DIY Zine

Humboldt DIY put out its second issue of their zine. It's an anonymous community-based zine where anyone can submit whatever they want, so it's kind of a free-for-all mash-up of writings and artwork. I did an interview with Steve Lovett who owns and runs People's Records, which is Arcata's only record store at the moment. Steve also played in the band Raid, which is remembered for their involvement in the formation of the hardline movement. I think the interview was pretty interesting, and turned out alright. The zine overall is rad, and I think a huge improvement from the first issue. If you're interested in one, you can email humboldtdiy(at)gmail(dot)com. 

_____

In other news my friend Alex Poska put out his first issue of his #diy4lyfe  zine, which he interviewed me for. He also made a tape comp with a bunch of the bands from the issue that you can grab from him. 

My friend Garrett La Bonte is also putting out a zine this week called Glimpses that has an interview with me in it. You'll be able to grab that from the Avocado Record Store within the week. He's having a release show for it this Friday. click HERE for the facebook event. 

MRR reviews The Stowaways Issue #15

Maximum Rocknroll Issue #371 reviewed the most recent issue of The Stowaways. 

THE STOWAWAYS #15 / $2 or trade
11 x 17 - copied - 24 pgs

I like to compare The Stowaways to a lo-fi tape. The production is pretty shoddy and the songs aren't perfect, but if you listen to it a few times, you're likely to find something that you really like. This issue opens up with a call out to one of Christopher's friends who dressed up as Trayvon Martin for Halloween and is now being shunned by the local punk community in Southern California. He explains the incident, defends his friend, but also asks for his friend and others to be accountable for their actions and stand up against racism. I've been following this zine for a while, so seeing this really impressed me. It shows the author's growth and I think it's important to include these things in our zines. The rest of the zine is mostly show reviews and a few brief interviews, which is standard content for The Stowaways. The editor clearly cares a lot about what's going on in his community and what his peers are doing. My past grievances with this zine have always been about the layout, but in this issue I finally got over it and kind of appreciated the bareness of it all. The latest issue, plus issue #14 are the best ones yet and are worth checking out if you want to dive into the LA music scene. (VX)
Christopher Gordon / 5082 Wendover Rd. / Yorba Linda, CA 92886

Chummer Mag Kickstarter

Hey everybody my friend Ben asked me to share this. He is starting a magazine, and he'd like your support. He use to write this blog, Classical Geek Theatre, which is the only reason why I ever started my own blog, which I guess is now the reason why I do the zine. I wish I could link ya'll to his old blog, but Ben is an idiot and deleted all his old content. But back in the day, Classical Geek Theatre wrote show reviews of all the 21+ shows that my underage ass couldn't attend. He covered the echo park / silverlake scene extensively, and turned me onto quite a few of the l.a. bands I still listen to today. Bands like manhattan murder mystery, death to anders, the happy hollows, and the deadly syndrome, were all covered on CGT. He also turned me onto Troma, specifically the Toxic Avenger, comic books, specifically The Watchman, and football, specifically the Indianapolis Colts. Just kidding, football still sucks. But check out this video, and support if you can. The kickstarter link is HERE.

roman candles shows in march

i'm going home for spring break next week, and i'll be playing a couple of shows while i'm home. i'm playing a show at bridgetown on Monday, March 17 with brave young, children of god, and pedestrian. that should be fun. facebook event HERE. 

I'm also playing a house show in long beach on Saturday, March 22 with tough stuff, olivias, and struckout at the greenhouse. i'm stoked for this show. facebook event HERE. 

i'll have the most recent issue of the stowaways available. that's all for now.