Thursday, February 9, 2017

Zine Review: ROUGHDALE Issue #4

ROUGHDALE: Southern Decay In The 21st Century Issue #4
Country of origin: USA
I reviewed the first two issues of this zine in May 2016. I missed issue #3 (which came with a copy of Brian Cook’s zine The Conspiracy) but managed to acquire issue #4 which has expanded its format to include the promotional CD Roughdale Radio Volume 1, a compilation of artists and bands: Goo Fish, Gabe Grantham, Sleep Like Heroin, Allergic To Everything, The Cock Buddied, E Pluribus Fuck You and Calusa Gardens. I remember what struck me about this zine’s first two issues was editor JC Spann’s sense of adventure traveling across the country in search of subject matter to write about, no matter how far outside the traditional approach to publishing zines. This issue has a piece by Spann entitled Digging A Dead Dog’s Grave; it’s listed in the liner notes as an article but reads like a fictional work. Following this are two more pieces: 420 Was An Inside Job Part I, compiled from a series of emails between Brian No Funeral and Jorge Eastman about music, media, politics and censorship, and To Live Life In The Mute, a firsthand account of a hospital receptionist by Christine Jaboe. So you get something a little different in the article department, as if your travels lead you into the personal lives of a few people and out again. There are a few single-page interviews with Allergic To Everything, Gabe Grantham and Sleep Like Heroin, and a list of suggested zines such as The Conspiracy, Paranoize, Mondo Sleazo and Modernism. All this is for five dollars, and you can buy all three back issues for $4 through the zine’s site (there’s also ordering information for The Conspiracy and No Funeral zines). Contact Spann if interested in submitting material for the next issue of Roughdale. -Dave Wolff

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