Slingshot Issue 144 Reviews The Stowaways Issue 21

Jose Fritz wrote a review of The Stowaways Issue 21 for the new issue of Slingshot, Issue 144. Check it out HERE. 

The Stowaways: Issue 21

80 pages – $5
romancandlesmusic@gmail.com

This beefy zine was put together by Christopher Gyorgyovich of the band Roman Candles. I think the writing in Stowaways has shown tremendous growth since the first issue back in 2011. This issue is chock full of interviews and show reviews. It’s thick like a novella, inviting you to curl up with it on a cold, snowy day and drink tea. I was reading up on the back issues and I discovered that Craven Rock kind of crapped on the last issue and had previously shat on issues 11 and 12. I asked Chris about it and he didn’t take it personally. Clearly he is much nicer than me. 

Gyorgyovich usually describes The Stowaways as a “fanzine.” The terminology usually means that one is a fan of a certain genre or band. There have been many bands named “The Stowaways”. My hope had been that he is a fan of the 1970s Stowaways from Cologne, Germany, for no reason other than that it would be hilarious… but we need to know the truth. 

So I asked, and he told me that the name actually came from his fascination with train hopping. At UC Berkeley, he wrote his senior thesis on the history of hobos, tramps, and trainhoppers. This is super cool, but I will resist changing the subject. I would absolutely rate Stowaways in a class similar to other fine zines like Ear of Corn, or Noise Widow. 

The Stowaways Issue 21 out now

Issue 21 of The Stowaways is now available HERE. It has interviews with Justin Smith from Graf Orlock, Dean Spunt from No Age, Jeremy Bolm from Touche Amore, and Tim Byron from Hlllyh and The Mae Shi. It's also got a bunch of show reviews from my time in Budapest as well as some book reviews and film reviews. Garrett La Bonte did the cover art. Please let me know if you'd like a copy. $5.00 shipped. Shoot me an email romancandlesmusic(at)gmail(dot)com
 

Roman Candles @ Genghis Cohen 02.13.2025

Roman Candles is playing at Genghis Cohen on February 13, 2025 with Youth Fountain and Bouges. 

You can pick up tickets at the link. 

Razorcake reviews The Stowaways Issue 20

 

Razorcake reviwed Issue 20 of The Stowaways in their new Issue #138 of the zine. 

Another solid issue of The Stowaways, bittersweet because of the author Christopher Gyorgyovich’s imminent move to Budapest. As an often locally oriented zine, one has to wonder what’s next for The Stowaways. I know my publishing practice (if you can call it that) changed drastically when I moved the very short distance from my hometown to Minneapolis, let alone changing countries. And it really is the local bent that draws me into this zine; despite my geographical distance I’m quite sentimental for watching a microcosmic world unfold in this way. The bulk of this issue is made up of characteristically thoughtful interviews with Pendant, Cupid & Psyche, Object Of Affection, and Dennis Callaci, with a few show and record reviews to round things out. Bon voyage, Stowaways! –jimmy cooper (romancandlesmusic@gmail.com)

Razorcake Reviews Roman Candles "The Daily Reminder of My Failed Folk Career"

Razorcake reviwed Roman Candles new album "The Daily Reminder of my Failed Folk Career," in Issue 138 of the magazine. 

Roman Candles have a little bit of ragged, heart-on-sleeve Replacements rock energy, and a little of Roky Erickson’s wounded, longing spirit. In other words: power pop, dream rock, sweat, looseness, unabashed love. Traditional and occasionally devastating and very real. I like it. –Matt Werts (romancandles.bandcamp.com)

 

The Daily Remind Of My Failed Folk Career

I put out a new Roman Candles album called "The Daily Remind Of My Failed Folk Career." It was recorded from July 2020 to December 2022. Madison Woodward, Garrett La Bonte, Maxwell Riech, Jeremy Leisure, and Evan Schaid helped play on the record. I pressed 100 tapes. You can pick up a tape at the link above, and give it a listen on bandcamp. 

Razorcake Reviews Issue 19 of The Stowaways

 

Razorcake #129 reviewed Issue 19 of The Stowaways. 

STOWAWAYS, THE, #19, $3-$5, 5½” x 8½”, copied, 38 pgs.

This issue of The Stowaways, a long-running zine by Christopher Gyorgyovich, has been three years in the making, thanks to his life—like countless other lives—being derailed by the ongoing global pandemic. He attended the livestreamed funeral of an uncle who died from COVID, saw his hopes to start a new job in Budapest dashed, and struggled through an academic year teaching virtual and in-person classes to college students on a campus that was rolling back COVID precautions. “Making a zine provides some sense of normalcy in a time when there isn’t any,” says Gyorgyovich in his intro to Issue 19. “I feel like I can control this when I can’t control anything else.” In this issue of The Stowaways are interviews with local musicians in Los Angeles, plus show reviews (some nearly five years old). This issue, the first since the August 2019 issue, wraps up with book and film reviews. –Gina Murrell (The Stowaways, 960 E. Bonita Ave. Unit #120, Pomona, CA 91767)