Midwest Hardcore Masters Invade NYC for TOUCH AND GO Book Release Events Tesco Vee and Negative Approach to spread some hate (and literacy)
 
In 1981, a delegation of hardcore punks from Michigan were invited to the set of Saturday Night Live by comedian John Belushi. While the band Fear performed during that week’s broadcast, the uncouth mob of slam-dancers swarmed across the SNL stage, causing a mini-riot and introducing the nation to the DIY music revolution.

Next week, many of those same early Midwest punks - including author Tesco Vee and book cover icon John Brannon of Negative Approach - will return to the East Coast for a slew of events in honor the new book TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83, by Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson. [Bazillion Points].

Dubbed “influential” by the Village Voice, “essential” by the Washington Post Express, and “slapdash, ornery, and entertaining” by PopMatters, the 576-page anthology offers introductions by Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, and other key figures. Time Out Chicago wrote: “As a hardcore punk primer you couldn’t do better.”

http://www.touchandgobook.com
Events will erupt as follows, building to a fantastic blowout Saturday Aug. 28 at Santos Party House with Tesco Vee’s Hate Police and Negative Approach. As John Brannon screamed into the live SNL mic for the nation to hear: “Negative Approach is gonna f/ck you up!”

Tuesday, August 24, 12PM - 3PM
WFMU 91.1FM Hardcore History Day on Diane’s Kamikaze Fun Machine
Diane welcomes Ian Christe of Bazillion Points Books, publisher of TOUCH AND GO, and author Tony Rettman of Why Be Something You’re Not: Detroit Hardcore 1979-1985, playing LOTS of Midwest Hardcore! Calling in will be: Tesco Vee (Meatmen frontman and co-author of TOUCH AND GO) and John Brannon of Negative Approach. [wfmu.org]

Tuesday, August 24, 7PM - 10PM
PowerHouse Arena, 37 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY
Ian Christe (publisher of TOUCH AND GO) and Tony Rettman (author of WBSTYN) will discuss both books and screen rare footage of Detroit hardcore shows from the early ’80s. Special guests!
[www.powerhousebooks.com/]

Friday, August 27, 7PM - Philadelphia, PA
READING @ Brickbat Books (709 South 4th Street)
with TOUCH AND GO authors Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, and editor Steve Miller
[brickbatbooks.com/]

Friday, August 28, 9PM - Philadelphia, PA
BOOK RELEASE SHOW @ The North Star Bar (Poplar & N. 27th Street)
Tesco Vee’s Hate Police and Hellmouth
[http://northstarbar.com/]

Saturday, August 28, 1PM - NYC
EARLY SHOW @ Generations (210 Thompson Street)
Tesco Vee’s Hate Police
[www.myspace.com/generationrecordsnyc]

Saturday, August 28, 2PM - NYC
READING @ Generations (210 Thompson Street)
TOUCH AND GO authors Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, and editor Steve Miller
[www.myspace.com/generationrecordsnyc]

Saturday, August 28, 4PM - NYC
BOOK RELEASE SHOW @ Santos Party House (96 Lafayette Street)
w/Tesco Vee’s Hate Police, Pissed Jeans, and Negative Approach
[www.santospartyhouse.com]

Thank you!
 
For further information, contact bazillion@bazillionpoints.com or visit http://www.touchandgobook.com

# # #
 
BAZILLION POINTS is America’s smallest but heaviest publisher.
 

VOIVOD and PORCUPINE TREE Members Contribute to ‘MEAN DEVIATION: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal’
 
Bazillion Points Books is proud to announce the late 2010 release of ‘MEAN DEVIATION: Four Decades of Progressive Heavy Metal’, by Jeff Wagner-a former editor of Metal Maniacs magazine and veteran supporter of metal’s most risk-taking bands. Wagner analyzes the heady side of metal in this exhaustive history of a relentlessly ambitious musical subculture. The book features extensive original artwork throughout by VOIVOD drummer Michel “Away” Langevin, including the lavish front cover which can be viewed at this location:

http://www.mean-deviation.com

The book’s foreword was penned by PORCUPINE TREE founder Steven Wilson. Revered in progressive rock circles, the multi-talented Wilson is also highly respected by metalheads as producer of three landmark Opeth albums. As he writes: “In Jeff Wagner’s MEAN DEVIATION, we now have a definitive book on the relationship between metal and progressive music, and the myriad variation of styles that it has given rise to…In the meantime, metal continues to mutate and evolve, sometimes in the most unexpected ways, demonstrating that it is far from spent and is, in fact, the most flexible of musical forms.”

Beginning with 1970s progressive rock acts Rush and King Crimson, MEAN DEVIATION unfurls a colorful tapestry of sounds and styles, from the “Big Three” of 1980s prog metal-Queensrÿche, Fates Warning, and Dream Theater-to extreme pioneers Voivod, Watchtower, and Arcturus. As sparks of inspiration spread to obscure outposts in Scandinavia, Florida, and Japan, progressive metal burst into full creative flame with the successes of prog metal overlords Opeth, Meshuggah, Tool, Between the Buried and Me, and many others.

“One thing prog metal certainly is, is metal,” Wagner continues. “Hard and bold and brash, but refined, adulterated, and mutated. Progressive metal is heavy metal taken somewhere illuminating and sometimes bizarre.”

Weighing in at 400 pages, the heavily-illustrated book includes a 16-page color photo insert, a constellation of appendixes, and a full index. For more information, and to preorder, visit:

http://www.mean-deviation.com
 

TOUCH AND GO Book Boosts Historic Midwest Hardcore Punk 7″ by the Fix to Record $4,250 Auction Price
 
Riding a wave of rediscovery courtesy of the exhaustive new book TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83, by Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, the historic 1981 Midwest hardcore punk “Vengeance” 7″ single by TOUCH AND GO book editor Steve Miller’s band The Fix has fetched an unprecedented $4,250 at auction. (The previous high price of $3,220 was set just last week.) Released in 1981 on Touch and Go Records in an edition of 200, the single has come to be seen as a spark that ignited Midwest hardcore punk. See the auction results at this location: http://bit.ly/fixontng

“Hell, 4,250 is way more than the total number of people who ever saw us play,” says Steve Miller. “The influence of this book has no boundaries. Imagine what will happen when TOUCH AND GO books replace Gideon bibles in the nightstands of sleazy motels everywhere!” 

“It makes me wonder how much my copy signed by all four Fix members would be worth?” says TOUCH AND GO author (and former Touch and Go label chief) Tesco Vee. “Gotta pluck it from my cold dead sausage fingers to find out!”

Steve Miller recently joined Tesco Vee’s Hate Police onstage in Chicago on July 17 for ripping renditions of several songs by The Fix. This upcoming weekend, we will join authors Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson at a rash of upcoming TOUCH AND GO book release events:

July 30 - Oak Park, MI
READING @ Bookbeat (26010 Greenfield) - 7pm

July 31 - East Lansing, MI
READING @ Flat Black & Circular (541 East Grand River) - 1PM

July 31 - Detroit, MI
BOOK RELEASE SHOW  @ St Andrews Hall (431 East Congress Street)
with NEGATIVE APPROACH, TESCO VEE’S HATE POLICE, VIOLENT APATHY, HELLMOUTH, SORCEN, plus SPECIAL GUEST

Relased on June 30 and available wherever good books are sold, TOUCH AND GO: The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ‘79-’83 is a large 576-page dossier from the dawn of hardcore punk, complete with introductions by Henry Rollins, Ian MacKaye, and Keith Morris of Black Flag/Circle Jerks. For more information, to order copies, or to arrange interviews with Tesco Vee and Steve Miller, contact Bazillion Points at bazillion@bazillionpoints.com

http://www.touchandgobook.com
 
Thank you - see you in the scramble!

BAZILLION POINTS
http://www.bazillionpoints.com
 
 

AV Maniacs Book Review: Touch And Go – The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ’79-‘83

Publisher: Bazillion Points

546 Pages

Black & White

$29.95

From 1979 a former school teacher with an interest in the burgeoning American punk rock scene and a few like minded individuals would use said teacher’s access to the school’s photocopier to start a small press independently made ‘magazine’ to get the word out about bands that they were into, shows that they were or wanted to go to, and about what was good or, more often, bad about being into this music and living in Michigan. Dubbed Touch And Go (before the magazine spun off into the record label that would unleash The Jesus Lizard and a bunch of other rad bands upon the world), it was published until 1983 when all involved called it quits and has basically remained an out of print memory of those who were lucky and/or old enough to have been there and read it at the time. All of that changes this month with the release of Bazillion Points’ compilation, Touch And Go – The Complete Hardcore Punk Zine ’79-’83, a phonebook of a release that features every page, from front cover to back with the original advertisements and stolen artwork included, of said ‘zine.

There’s a large (and understandable) amount of coverage given to local bands – The Necros, Negative Approach, and later The Meatmen – but the book also covers the west coast scene by taking on bands like FEAR, Black Flag, and The Circle Jerks while continuously worshipping at the altar of the Washington, D.C. scene that gave birth to Minor Threat, S.O.A., and of course, the mighty Bad Brains. If that weren’t enough, the record reviews section (a highlight of each and every issue) covers… everything. You’d think that given the zine’s ‘hardcore’ slant that it’d just be crusty, thrashy, aggressive type stuff but look closely and you’ll see an appreciation of avant garde acts like The Birthday Party, Crass, and even poppier acts like Joy Division and P.I.L. (okay, maybe they’re not ‘poppy’ per se but they’re certainly more accessible than G.G. Allin – whose early releases are essentially pissed on here). There are great write ups on legends like The Cramps but also an appreciation for British Oi!/street punk acts like Stiff Little Fingers. Touch And Go covered a lot more ground than the ‘Hardcore Punk Zine’ tag line might hav you believe.

On top of that, between its covers are some interesting editorials and rants about various aspects of the punk scene of the era, some really great vintage ads for shows and long out of print record releases, art from the likes of Pushead before he made bank by drawing stuff for Metallica, and an unusually high quotient of doctored pictures of Elvis. Oh, and a picture of Jello Biafra’s head on the tip of a penis. That made me laugh for some reason.

If having each and every issue of the magazine in one nice softcover book wasn’t great enough, the book also features all new introductory essays by Touch And Go main men Tesco Vee and Dave Stimson, Steve Miller, Black Flat/Rollins Band/Mediocre Movie star Henry Rollins, Black Flag/Circle Jerks alumin Keith Morris, Peter Davis, Henry Owings, Byron Coley, Corey Rusk, the scariest man in rock and roll – Negative Approach’s John Brannon (who is only really scary on stage but holy shit will he fuck you up live - and who notes that he owes his career to the zine - that’s him on the cover, by the way), and Minor Threat/Fugazi/Dischord Records Ian MacKaye. Even if you’ve somehow managed to get every issue of the magazine (and you haven’t because they only made 100 copies of the first one) you haven’t read the intros, nor have you read The 999 Times (which was Vee’s first foray into publishing) or seen the reader letters and way too awesome show flyers tucked into the last pages of the book.

This is great stuff in every possible way. The brevity of certain sections not only make it perfect bathroom reading material but the weight of the tome will aid the digestive process. The writing is passionate and, if occasionally misguided, a Hell of a lot of fun to read. It obviously helps to have an interesting in the subject matter – that should go without saying but since it’s been written evidently it does not – but even if you’ve never heard The Necros or Battalion of Saints if you’ve got any sort of appreciation for independent punk rock and DIY/zine publishing, this is one that you’ll want on your bookshelf. It’s a whole lot of fun and a throwback to an age where the internet hadn’t really been invented on a mass scale and it actually required a lot more effort to get something out to an audience (and yes, the irony of the fact that you’re reading this on the internet has not gone unnoticed), particularly one as niche as the target demographic that Touch And Go aimed at. Keep in mind that when this zine was thriving, Green Day hadn’t shown up and sold an ass load of records. Punk rock was, as Mike Ness likes to say over and over again at every fucking Social Distortion show ever, still dangerous. The battle stories from the early 80s club shows are proof and the whole package just offers up an insurmountable amount of historically important documentation of a scene that was passionate, thriving, different, and that flat out didn’t give a fuck.

For more information, please check out the Bazillion Points website by clicking here. These guys are releasing bad ass stuff and deserve some of your hard earned dollars. If you order the book from them, you get a free badge and the first 100 orders get a signed copy of The Meatmen’s ‘We’re The Meatmen…. And You Still Suck!’ signed by Tesco Vee himself.