FILIPINO ZINERGY: 03/26/10

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"But the peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is, that it is robbing the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation; those who dissent from the opinion, still more than those who hold it....All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility. Its condemnation may be allowed to rest on this common argument, not the worse for being common. "(John Stuart Mill)

Breaking the barriers of freedom expression. Defying the controls of public opinion. Love it or hate it. Do It Yourself!

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Onward to the Futrure (2003- Present): Metro Manila Fan/Zine History (part 6)

In 2003, Sannee Reveche put out Crapsalad. That was the first and last issue of the printed Crapsalad. As for the moment Reveche is more focused on the fan/zine’s online version. Mindrape fan/zine was also published during this year.

The summer of 2004 saw the release of Major Malfunction. It was published by Walid “Led” Ma’arouf. Ma’arouf said that at first he was just helping the Scene zinesters in typing their articles. But then again, he realized that he can also make his own fan/zine—and so Major Malfunction came to life.

After several months, Trident Nation, which is a metal zine was born in July 2004.

Influenced by the Dumpling Press, Bunny Luz created San ‘To? in 2004, Luz emphasized that fan/zine making is not a profit endeavor, rather it is a labor of love.

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The Golden Era (1996 to 2002):Metro Manila Fan/Zine History (part 5)

Realizing that it is not feasible to publish a magazine like Seventeen or Cosmopolitan, Dumpling Press decided to make its own zine in 1999. Dumpling Press is run by Claire Villacorta and Paolo Jose Cruz. They are the ones that published Halo-Halo. In that same year, Cruz made a debut of his personal zine named as Dysfunxion.

Another duo came up with their own fan/zine. These are Francis Irish de Guzman and Fortunato “Nonoy” Padrejuan. The two collaborated and decided to create the Scene fan/zine. De Guzman was more into punk, whereas Padrejuan is more into metal—therefore the result is a combination of two different ideas.

When the new millennium came, Alvaro Martin released Metal Havoc. His encounter with punk fan/zines influenced him to come up witha metal fan/zine. The fifth issue of this publication was released in December 2005.

Political and literary zines also emerged in 2000. Jong Pairez created the political zine, Soluble Fish. Then he met his classmate Randy Nobleza and the latter began to contribute to the publication. Nobleza now handles Soluble Fish since Pairez went to Japan last 2003. Other than Soluble Fish, Nobleza created two other fan/zines named as Spontaneous Human Combustion and Paminggalang Lanta si Ninotchka Rosca.

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The Golden Era (1996 to 2002):Metro Manila Fan/Zine History (part 4)

The well revered Do-It-Yourself (DIY) Ethic is a primal aspect behind fan/zine production. But DIY is not just a mere dogmatic term. Through the years, it has progressed and developed a culture of its own. It cannot be denied that it has created a major impact towards the proliferation of different types of fan/zines.

From 1996 to 2002, more fan/zines were published. During this period, it is evident that music is not the only central themes of these publications. But it cannot be denied that music fan/zines still dominate the fan/zine arena.

In December 1995, siblings Butch and Dangie Regala conceptualized their own hardcore fan/zine. The idea materialized. Therefore, in January 1996, Get in Touch was created. In 1998, Get in Touch collaborated with Step Forward fan/zine. This paved the way for a newsprint fan/zine called The Conspiracy.

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The Formative Years (1987 to 1995): Metro Manila Fan/Zine History (part 3)

The dawn of 1988 gave birth to another influential fanzine—Mutilated News. It is tagged as one of the longest running fanzines in Metro Manila. All in all Noel Francia has released 9 printed issues of Mutilated News. In 2000, the fan/zine went online.

Influenced by Maximum Rock & Roll and Slug Lettuce— Coarse front man, Darwin Koh decided to make his own fan/zine in 1989. He christened it as Head Shrinker. Head shrinker had 3 issues only. It is because in 1994, Koh changed its name to Verbal Offense Punxine. In that same year (1994) he also released Bullet Inn, together with comrade Rigor Ruiz of Disabuse.

On the other hand, Anti fanzine under Raymond Bravo was also born in 1989. Bravo is also responsible for the Laguna-based fan/zine known as Keep da Faith.

Dennis de Vera was simply not contented with Oi Banger. In 1990, De Vera along with Chris Aguilar and Darwin Laluz published Oi Banger. It had 6 issues just like Manila Oi.

More fan/zines sprouted in the 90s. Blatant Underground and Growwll came to life.

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The Formative Years (1987 to 1995): Metro Manila Fan/Zine History (part 2)

The story began in 1978. It was the time when a courageous DJ known as Howlin Dave— or Dante David first played Sex Pistol’s music in DZRJ (Ramos, 1992). From then on, Punk came and was set to conquer the east. But the total invasion was felt more when the station obtained the rights to air BBC London’s Rockline. Rockline featured top UK punk bands such as The Clash, The Damned etc.(Ramos, 1992). Due to this, a legion of devoted followers was formed.

In 1981, Tommy Tanchanco formed a punk quartet band known as Chaos (Ramos, 1992). This would not come as a surprise since Tanchanco was already exposed to the music due to his travels in Europe (Ramos, 1992). A series of Brave New World Concerts were then held at the Philippine Trade Exhibit Grounds (Ramos, 1992). Such paved the way for several Filipino punk bands such as The Zoo, Betrayed, Lost Boys, Urban Bandits, Dead Ends, George Imbecile (G.I) and the Idiots etc. Jingle Magazine also started to cover the thriving punk scene (Ramos, 1992).

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Metro Manila Fan/Zine History (part 1)

A brief overview

From 1987 to 2004, it is estimated that over 140 fan/zines were published in Metro Manila. Although considered as the country’s capital region, fan/zines are also published in other parts of the Philippines such as Laguna, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Bulacan, Tarlac, Bicol, Quexon etc. Due to the underground and ephemeral nature of fan/zines, documenting these publications is beset with difficulties. Majority of fan/zines last after their third or fourth issue. Some of them tend to change their names. Others have become inactive right after the release of their maiden print-run. However, there are a few fan/zines which have managed to survive and remain active even after several years.

Factors affecting Philippine fan/zine production

There are two integral aspects that determine fan/zine production in the Philippines. These are the continuous increased of production costs and human constraints. In a country overflowing with talent, it is a bitter reality that scarce financial resources hurt zinesters the most. Majority of the expenses are solely shouldered by zine editors. Secondly, human factors such as time constraints, for example, prevent zine publishers from releasing copies regularly. Nevertheless, this is less likely to affect fan/zine production as compared to the former.

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Disclaimer, Warning, Whatever

This site's main purpose is to somehow educate you about the Philippine fan/zine scene. I DO NOT DISTRIBUTE these fan/zines. If you want to have your own copy, the DIRECTORY is here and the LINKS are already provided so you can contact the zine editors directly. BAWAL ANG TAMAD. If you are too lazy to contact these zinesters, then you are giving me the impression that you are also too lazy to read. Enough of spoonfeeding. I don't have time for sluggish protozoans.

Love it or hate it, DO IT YOURSELF! READ, READ, READ