June 6 2018 marks the 35th anniversary of xXx Fanzine. I'm as surprised as anyone that the product of what seems like a lifetime ago (t was!): a quickly-scribbled, hastily laid-out, xeroxed and stapled together 12 page screed, still warm from local copy shop, would continue to hold plenty of gravitas for yours truly.
Who would have thought that the zine I rushed out for that Dead Kennedys/Jerry's Kids/The Freeze/Proletariat gig in Waltham, Mass, would be something I'd be involved with three-and-a-half decades later! Let's think back to some of other other cultural touchpoints of the year: 1983! Return of the Jedi was hitting theaters! The cold war was still a thing! The average monthly rent was a whopping $335! As Dan O' Mahoney pointed out in his intro essay in the xXx book, 35 years before that, Eisenhower was still president and Doo Wop was the hit sound of the day.
Which brings us to what is basically a continuation of the four-year project that still feels like a 288 page "homecoming": xXx Fanzine 1983-88: Hardcore and Punk In The 80's. The 11"x11", 4.5 lb tome, edited by Bridge Nine Records owner, Chris Wrenn neatly encapsulates the best and most focused aspects of the zine's 20 issue run. That said, there was a lot of material that should have made the cut!
That's to say nothing of the avalanche of amazing photos, flyers and tons of circa 83-88 artifacts that we were coming in after the book was already crammed full and ready to go to press.. Of course, I've been hounding Chris about adding, oh, at least 100 more pages for a second printing!
So what better time to launch the "xXx Fanzine Archives" which will continue to highlight interviews, reviews and xXx-related ephemera that didn't make the physical book but will live here and continue to tell the zine's six-year (and beyond) story. First entry: So-Cal punk heroes, Channel3, who are pushing the four-decade mark with no signs of stopping. Their recently-released Put 'Em Up is their best in years, to say nothing of kicking more ass onstage than most bands half their age. Click HERE to read all about it!
Welcome to the archives! Strange to think, but 35 years later, xXx is still having its say.