Case Study: Mallory Gevaert

I had to do an international case study/field research. It have to be an unpublished materials. So I did a brief interview with Mallory Gevaert. Let's read what she have to say.

1. Tell us your background in fanzines and publication field.

I write a biweekly zine column for alarmpress.com reviewing various types of zines.

2. Why do you write about fanzines?

They're an interesting part of publishing that a lot of people don't seem to know about, or have a lot of misconceptions about - that they're about a really narrow range of topics, or only homemade stapled contraptions etc. And I like writing about them

3. Do you think music magazines sales can be improved by using desktop publishing plus fanzine graphics?

I think fanzine graphics or any home-made type graphics can be very eyecatching, especially on a newsstand, and done right they can still look professional and slick enough to fit with a music magazine. Plus they have that DIY/punk aesthetic that's so key to a lot of modern music.

4. What formats/design aspects of fanzines that you think can be used in music magazines to enhance the aesthetic value? (eg. Handwriting, stencil, silk-screen, cut and paste, typewriter typeface, different kinda binding)

Stencil always looks really cool, and different bindings would definitely set the magazine apart from what else is on newsstands.

5. Other suggestions in design aspect for music magazines to survive in the current download craze and weblogs era?

Just using something new and interesting that doesn't look like all the other high-gloss magazines available. Music magazines covering certain genres of music can get away with using cut-and-paste covers or handwritten titles, so why don't they?

6. What do you think is lacking in websites that make printed reading material is essential to keep on being published?

Quality photos and layout are always key when I'm reading magazines, and so many websites use templates now and tend to look very similar to each other. Also, magazines are portable, which is a big help, even with iPads and phones around now.

7. What are your favorite zines and why?

My favorite zine is probably The La La Theory by Katie Haegele, because it's all about weird quirks of language and I think that's interesting. She also digs up odd information from old textbooks and things, and the aesthetic is all very old-fashioned and nice. I also like King-Cat by John Porcellino because he just writes mini comics about things that happen in his life.

8. What are the weirdest zines you've seen/read and how does it look like?

I saw some comics that were about four pages long and the size of an index card, so those were odd.

hardkoi zine dari temerloh (my first punk letter)

Aku baca review ni dalam Blasting Concept dan terus order. Macam menarik sebab ada pasal skate.





Ni pulak surat yang aku dapat. Zine hardkoi ni memang banyak ubah idup aku time 1996 tu. Aku telan bulat-bulat apa yang ditulis dalam zine tu.

Mana ntah zine tu, masih ada dalam simpanan aku. Berkulit biru dan tidak bergambar pada kulit. Hanya ditulis Hardkoi zine #1. don't judge a zine by it's cover. Fuuuuhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!





Ni pulak zine lain, jugak dari Temerloh...Kaum Muda zine. Tapi tak sesedap Hardkoi #1.

sudah terbit

satu lagi iklan untuk minyak pak ali

projek tahun 2011

Memang projek-projek mega semuanya!!!

1. siapkan mosh zine #14
2. publish buku dum dum tak
3. publish buku kompilasi punk rock
4. release album dum dum tak
5. kahwin
6. errrrrrrrr...anak???
7. habiskan master

gila jugak ya tahun 2011 ni.

Nizang Mosh diinterview majalah dari USA - ALARM

wah, teruja gila...thanks Mallory Gevaert from Alarm Press!

Alarm

Zine Scene: Malaysia's Mosh
November 24, 2010

Posted by Mallory Gevaert

For those who think that the zine is only a recent, Western phenomenon, look no further than the Malaysian zine Mosh to have your expectations demolished. This political, punk-rock zine out of southeast Asia is celebrating its tenth anniversary and thirteenth issue this year, thanks to creator Nizang and an increasingly organized zine-writing community in and around Kuala Lumpur.

When Nizang began publishing Mosh in 1999, at the age of 17, the community in Malaysia was deep underground. “I thought there were no zines from my hometown at that time, and decided I should do one," he says. "Then I realized there were a few zines there, actually; they contacted me and we’re still close friends now.”

Even though the community is stronger than Nizang had once thought, it’s still growing. “Zine communities and collectives are still a very new thing nowadays in Malaysia," he says. "It’s just started to pop out. We have Kudeta Collective, which carries a lot of political zines, and the newly formed Kolektif Kaki Ketik, which aims to organizes zine events as well as publishes zine compilations and books.”

Though still in its infant stages in Kuala Lumpur, a community based around independent publishing has nonetheless begun to materialize. Nizang remains cautiously optimistic about the future of Malaysian independent publishing. “It’s all good, but it’s just at a starting stage," he says. "Hopefully in 5-10 years' time, the independent publishing will be merrier with various genres, plus better quality of writing and printing.”

In short, Malaysia needs zines like this. After several setbacks and hiatuses, Nizang realized how important his zine was when no new zines appeared to fill the niche he left behind. He continues to publish Mosh because he feels there is a need for it, despite its frequent absences.

Part of its longevity is undoubtedly due to the fact that the zine, like any good piece of art, is constantly changing and evolving. Although it started as a local skateboarding and underground music zine, Mosh has changed focus to cover more personal material and, as Nizang says, “ranting.”

“My favorite part used to be doing the interviews," he says, "but nowadays it’s the real-life stories. I’ll be very excited anytime I have something in mind to write about."

One thing that hasn’t changed is the dynamic and colorful DIY aesthetic of the covers, which are anything but mainstream or polished. Nizang thinks of his zines as a special product, and he stresses, “Be honest in what you write, because your published writings will remain forever in the hands of your readers. Don’t forget that people might still be reading your writings in 10 years' time after the date it was written.”

Though Mosh used to be published in a mixture of Malay and English, it’s now “95-100% English,” and the language barrier can cause some confusion. He recalls, “I nearly got beaten up because I referred to some metal-music old-timers at my hometown as ‘old dogs.’ Two metal-heads came and warned and threatened me and said I shouldn’t write like that because dogs are considered ‘dirty.’ They took the term literally; that’s funny.”

Nizang also understands the importance of branching out in order to remain relevant. In 2010, he helped to set up the Kuala Lumpur Zine Fest. “There was no event specifically to celebrate zine culture for a long time here," he says. "We had zine selling, trading, some light music performances, and also zine-reading sessions. It was fun, and my friends and I are looking forward to organizing some more zine-related events in the future.”

last minute launch party

on the spot flyer design. sketch yg aku buat dari foto milik fara. gambar 3 orang crowd di gig Efek Rumah Kaca.