From vintage daguerreotypes and Polaroids to strips of photo booth selfies and digitally altered images, the pages of zines provide an excellent frame for photographs of all kinds. This month at our book club-style event for people who read zines, we’ll be talking about our favorite titles that focus on photos. Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are welcome to join us for a fun discussion and snacks.
If you’d like to participate in our Mystery Zine Swap, bring a zine (concealed in some way) to trade with someone else on the spot!
CHIPRC’s Zine Club is produced by Chicago Zine Fest organizer Cynthia E. Hanifin.
Tues, Aug 13th, 7pm
Here at Quimby’s Bookstore, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park
James “Jinx” O’Connor and Damen Corrado’s new book Compliments of Chicagohoodz: Chicago Street Gang Art and Culture (Feral House) draws upon the world’s largest collection of Chicago street gang memorabilia and research material to decipher their arcane visual language of the city’s street organizations. This comprehensive survey breaks down and analyzes approximately 700 street gang business cards (“compliment cards”), along with photographic documentation of the lost era of street gang graffiti (“emblems”), gang member portraits, archival photos of varsity-style gang sweaters and patches, drawings, and commentary from gang members and artists such as Robert N. Taylor and Jack Walls.
Through these images Compliments of Chicagohoodz traces the history and development of the neighborhood street gang, from the “social athletic clubs” of the 1950s “greaser” era, through the racially divided 1970s, up to the 1990s and beyond.
Former Guardian Angel “Jinx” has spent 30 years combing the streets, researching territories, interviewing and photographing gang members and countless hours conducting research in the Chicago Historical Society and the Harold Washington Library.
Damen Corrado is an artist and filmmaker from the North Side of Chicago.
July is International Zine Month! CHIPRC’s Zine Club is commemorating this global celebration of self-publishing with an exploration of zines from other countries. Bring your favorite titles from outside the United States and join us for a fun discussion and snacks at Chicago’s only book club-style event for people who read zines. Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are welcome!
* Please note that we’re meeting on a Thursday evening this month. *
Looking for more ways to celebrate #IZF2019? Check out this cool calendar of daily activities created by Alex Wrekk of Portland Button Works and Zine Distro:
Since July 18 is IZF’s Zine Trade Day, we’re putting a fun spin on our usual Mystery Zine Swap. Please bring a zine to trade, concealed in some way, and write a one-sentence description (without using the title or zinemaker’s name) on the wrapping. Then we’ll match up folks with the description that appeals most to them. Think of it as speed dating – but for zines and readers. 🙂
More info at quimbys.com. CHIPRC’s Zine Club is produced by Chicago Zine Fest organizer Cynthia E. Hanifin.
Toxic Reasons, with Ed Pittman on the mic, with DOA on the bill too!
Rock’n’Roll Decontrol will feature a punk discussion with Tony Erba (iconic member of bands like Face Value, 9 Shocks Terror, Cheap Tragedies, Fuck You Pay Me and more), classic punk Ed Pittman (Toxic Reasons, New Regrets), and writer/photographer/drummer David Ensminger (who has played with the singers of Sado-Nation, the Dicks, Big Boys, Plimsouls, and more).
David Ensminger’s numerous books include an upcoming interview collection featuring a focus on the history of Washington D.C. punk and another volume with interviews culled from the last ten years of his work in zines like Razorcake and Maximum RocknRoll as well as brand new interviews with members of Toxic Reasons, Agnostic Front, and the Flesh Eaters.
Earlier this spring, Ensminger released:
Beneath the Shadows of T.S.O.L.: a collection of four interviews with groundbreaking singer Jack Grisham (done by Ensminger as well as Welly, editor of Artcore and singer for the notorious Welsh punk band Four Letter Word) that span the years from 2001 to 2018; it also includes a concise T.S.O.L. record chronology by Grisham, plus fan essay too, along with myriad rare photographs (including from famed punk chronicler Ed Colver!) and tons of gig flyers. It is an essential read for those interested in the Southern California punk revolt, death/dark/gothic/politico punk, and the history of underground music on the West Coast.
Bio: David Ensminger is a college instructor and the author of several books covering both American roots music and punk rock history — Visual Vitriol: The Street Art and Subcultures of the Punk and Hardcore Generation (Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2011), Mojo Hand: The Life and Music of Lightnin’ Hopkins (Univ. of Texas Press, 2013), Left of the Dial: Conversations with Punk Icons (PM Press, 2013), and Mavericks of Sound: Conversations with the Artists Who Shaped Indie and Roots Music (Rowman and Littlefield, 2014). His book The Politics of Punk was published by Rowman and Littlefield in Aug. 2016, while Out of the Basement: Punk in Rockford, IL, 1973-2005 was published in March 2017 by Microcosm Press.
Currently, his chapter on the film Repo Man (“Looking for a Joke With a Microscope: The Intersection of Punk and Humor in RepoMan”) was featured in the new Routledge Companion to Popular Music and Humor. Both The Boston Globe and The Economist have highlighted his research; meanwhile, he writes for both academic and popular press publications like Art in Print, Razorcake, The Journal of Popular Music Studies, Houston Press, Trust(Germany), Artcore (Britain), and Maximum Rock’n’Roll.
CHIPRC’s Zine Club at Chicago Zine Fest 2019: Baby’s First Zine Edition!
Sat, May 18th, 4:30-5:30pm
Chicago Zine Fest Exhibition Day at Plumbers Union Hall, 1340 W. Washington Blvd. in the West Loop
Free!
We’re bringing Chicago’s only book club-style event for people who read zines to CZF2019! This month, we’ll be talking about our early steps into the world of zines. Bring one of the first zines you made or read and join us at Chicago Zine Fest’s Exhibition Day for a fun discussion and snacks!
Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts are welcome. First 25 attendees will receive a special-edition Chicago Zine Fest notebook!
This event is produced by Chicago Zine Fest organizer Cynthia E. Hanifin. Sponsored by Quimby’s Bookstore, which is proud to be sponsor of CZF.
Writer, musician, comic artist zine-maker (and former Quimby’s employee) Al Burian (best known for his Orwellian-themed band Milemarker and darkly humorous personal zine Burn Collector) reads from new work and presents his newest book, NO APOCALYPSE: PUNK, POLITICS AND THE GREAT AMERICAN WEIRDNESS, a collection of columns and miscellany from turn-of-the-millennium publications such as PUNK PLANET and THE SKELETON. Seen through our contemporary lens, The 00’s reveal themselves to have been a time of splendidly naive optimism: remember when we all thought George W. Bush was the worst US president there could possibly be? Remember when the neighborhood seemed too crappy to ever get gentrified? Return to those carefree days, when the Y2K computer virus had just failed to happen and environmental collapse was still near-future science fiction.
The evening also sees the first US appearance of DEAN STREET, an epic comic book series (we dare not say “serialized graphic novel”) by Al Burian and Berlin comic artist Oska Wald. The action in DEAN STREET takes place in a mythical version of Chicago, and features a zany cast of characters, some unnerving supernatural occurrences, and the best rock show ever drawn.
Plus a brief music performance by ANARKUSS, the post-apocalyptic no-electricity song and story act. A glimpse into what punk bands will sound like when the power grid fails and we all revert to eating nuts and berries…
“Al Burian is the bastard love-child of Spalding Gray and Henry Rollins”-Ex Berliner
On Friday night of #CZF2019, Chicago Zine Fest has two special events. The annual Exhibitor Reading will be here at Quimby’s Bookstore, Friday May 17th from 6-8pm. Zine creators share stories and comics from the pages of their publications. Hosted by Megan Kirby. Readers include David Alvarado, Julia Arredondo, Ed Blair, Eileen Chavez, Casey Goonan, Jonas, Jaclyn Miller, LizMarie Palomo, Leslie Perrine, Jami Sailor, and Alejandra Trigoso.
Afterwards head over to the Cards Against Humanity Theater (1551 W. Homer St) for Zine Jeopardy at 9pm. Chicago Zine Fest organizer Johnny Misfit will host and contestants John Porcellino, Julia Eff and Billy the Bunny will go head-to-head as we test their knowledge of all things zine. More info about that here.
Quimby’s is proud to co-sponsor CZF and congratulates the festival for celebrating 10 years! The Chicago Zine Fest is a celebration of small press and independent publishers, with an annual festival of workshops, events, and the big expo day where 250+ zinesters set up tables to sell and trade their zines. All the events are free and open to the public. CZF 2019 will be held May 16th, 17th, and 18th. More info at chicagozinefest.org.
Want the Facebook Event Invite for this special Friday double header? It’s here.
Here at Quimby’s, 1854 W. North Avenue in Wicker Park
Free
Spring is a time when we honor all that our planet provides for us, so we’re celebrating the earth by exploring zines about going green in every sense of the phrase! This month at our book club-style event for people who read zines, we’ll be talking about our favorite titles that focus on nature, from plants and animals to outdoor adventures and climate justice. Zine newbies and longtime enthusiasts alike are welcome to join us for a fun discussion and snacks.
If you’d like to participate in our Mystery Zine Swap, bring a zine (concealed in some way) to trade with someone else on the spot!
This event is produced by Chicago Zine Fest organizer Cynthia E. Hanifin. Thank you to CZC member Anna Jo Beck for designing this month’s beautifully verdant flyer!
