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  • Teens Read Work Inspired by Chicago Zine Fest 5/14

    xerox hand

    In the week following March’s Chicago Zine Fest, 13 high school students participated in a series of talks and workshops with exciting self-publishing artists from the greater Chicagoland area. Now here’s their chance to present and read from their self-published works inspired by what they learned during the series, that include essays, poems, comics and stories. Quimby’s is proud to support the next era of self-publishers.

    F E A T U R I N G   T A L E S    OF  . . .

    Eggplants <> Deep Fears <> Deep Loves

    White Castle  <> Radio Reception and more!

    Tuesday (a good day for mail), May 14th, 7pm

  • New Stuff This Week

    telegrambookTelegram: A Collection of 27 Issues by Maranda Elizabeth (Mend My Dress Press) $24.99 – Maranda tells tales of daily adventures, friendship, gender identity, falling in love with bicycles, getting tattoos, moving out, going crazy, inpatient hospitalizations and more. Also includes a bunch of new material, a tutorial on how to make zines, and a never before released issue.

    Zines & Zine-Related
    Come On Down: True Game Show Tales by Winners, Losers, Viewers, and Folks Behind the Scenes, ed. by Matt Carman – As in, game shows. And very entertaining. Come on down! -LM $4.00
    I Love Bad Movies issues #1-#5 by Kseniya Yarosh and Matt Carman $5.00 each
    Daily Object Daily Document by Kione Kochi $4.00 – She draws about her possessions and talks about them. Wait! Don’t skip over this! It’s really awesome, and the drawings are minimal and thoughtful. WHY DIDN’T I DO THIS? I might just have to do one in response.-LM
    Grime Time Presents: Rhino Legs and Donkey Butts vol 1 by P. $10.00 – Local graff zine.
    Cock Cessaries #1 by Brian Hochberger $2.00
    On Struggling #2 Self Care by Monica Trinidad $6.00
    Jobs the Argue Dog by Isa Sung $3.00
    Black Metal of the Americas issues 2 and 4 by Ed and Patrick $5.00 each
    Rochester Teenset Outsider #23 Doomsday Special by Will Carroll $1.00
    Think About the Bubbles #4 Freedom Meow by Joyce Hatton and Alvin $2.00
    Son of Fury by Paul Ferrell $4.00
    Secret Bully #1 by Cynthia Ann Schemmer $3.00
    All Hope Was Lost by Karsten Foerster $4.00
    Eyesore vol 1 Feb 13 by Michael Heck and Karsten Foerster $1.00
    Sorry It’s Not About Me Sergej Vutuc $12.00
    Zisk #22 Spr 13 $2.00

    DIY
    Brew Your Own Kombucha by Kione $1.50

    Comics & Comix
    Stripburger #58 $8.00
    Comics by Joseph Hewitt: Snow Cone City #1, Scum Hive #1 Voles of the Dusk
    Strata #2 Form and Composition by Bill Rusk $2.00
    No Recipe Inside #1 by Ally Wang $2.00
    Birdy #1 Wish I can be a zombie by Freakie Pam Pam Liu $6.00
    Spurts #1 by Mike Funk $3.00
    Slurricane #5 by Will Laren $5.00
    Waves #1 Notes and Sketches from 2012 $6.00

    Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks
    Marble Season by Gilbert Hernandez (D&Q) $21.95 – Thanks to everybody that came out last night to see Gilbert here at Quimby’s!!!!
    Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown $14.95 – Don’t miss Jeffrey Brown here for the Laydeez Do Comics Chicago April Edition on April 25th!
    Toxicity vol 1 Welcome to Eleven City by Victor Ochoa $15.00
    Nobodies vol 1 $20.00 and vol 2 $15.00
    Joe Golem and the Drowning City: An Illustrated Novel by Mike Mignola and Chirstopher Golden $17.99
    Jerusalem: A Family Portrait by Boaz Yakin and Nick Bertozzi (First Second) $24.99
    Dial H TPB vol 1 Into You by China Mieville and Mateus Santolouco $14.99
    Happy by Grant Morrison and Darick Robertson $12.99
    Transfusion Vampires Versus Robots by Steve Niles and Menton3 $17.99
    Superzelda Graphic Life of Zelda Fitzgerald by Tiziana Lo Porto and Daniele Marotta (One Peace Books) $16.95

    Art & Design
    Shirt Kings: Pioneers of Hip Hop Fashion by Edwin PHADE Sacasa and ALan KET (Dokument Press) $44.95
    Pretty Patterns: Surface Design by 25 Contemporary Artists $24.95
    Street Art LondonFrank Steam156 Malt and David Stewart $28.95
    streetartlondon
    How To Be A Cat by Nikki McClure $16.95
    howtobeacat

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs, Music & Misc
    In The City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist by Pete Jordan. Don’t miss Pete Jordan aka Dishwasher Pete here at Quimby’s on May 5th!
    City of Scoundrels: 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago by Gary Krist $14.95
    Farmer Buckley’s Exploding Trousers and Other Odd Events on the Way to Discovery by Stephanie Pain $15.95
    Gathering of the Tribe: Music and Heavy Conscious Creation by Mark Goodall (Headpress) $25.95 – Addresses how magick, mysticism and the occult figure into many of our favorite records.
    gatheringofthetribe
    How To Build a Time Machine: The Real Science of Time Travel by Brian Clegg $15.99 – Now in soft cover.
    Yesterday Should Be Happy #1 European and American Films and #2 Hong Kong Films by En Ning Ho $12.00 each
    Red Specters: Russian Tales from the Twentieth Century by Muireann Maguire $25.95
    David Bowie Is $55.00 – The first book that grants access to the internationally acclaimed artist and performer’s personal archive of costumes, ephemera, original design artwork, and more, bringing it together to present a completely new perspective on his creative work and collaborations. Withh essays from folks like Camille Paglia, Jon Savage and more.
    Frequencies vol 2 Artful Essays Spr 13 (Two Dollar Radio) $10.00
    Owsley and Me: My LSD Family by Rhoney Gissen Stanley and Tom Davis (Monkfish) $15.95

    Politics & Revolution
    Sewing Freedom: Philip Joseph’s Transnationalism and Early New Zealand Anarchism by Jared Davidson (AK Press) $12.95
    Stalinist Legacy – Its Impact on Twentieth Century World Politics by Tariq Ali (Haymarket) $22.00

    Fiction
    You by Austin Grossman $25.99- From the author of the super, super fun Soon I Will Be Invincible.

    Poetry, Lit Mags, Lit Journals, Chap Books
    Schtick by Kevin Coval (Haymarket) $16.00
    But Our Princess Is In Another Castle by BJ Best $14.95
    Pinstriping #37 Kustom Graphics Magazine Apr May 13 $9.95
    The Chicago Review vol 57 #3 and #4 $14.00
    Comb #1 by Ian Huebert $3.00

    Magazines
    True Crime Special Spr 13 20 All True Murder Stories $6.99
    Dapper Dan #7 Spr Sum 13 $10.99

    Kids Stuff
    Oddfellows Orphanage by Emily Winfield Martin $14.99 – From classes in Cryptozoology and Fairy Tale Studies to trips to the circus, from Annual Hair Cutting Day to a sea monster-sighting field trip, things at Oddfellows are anything but ordinary . . . except when it comes to friendships. And in that, Oddfellows is like any other school where children discover what they mean to each other while learning how big the world really is.

    Other Stuff
    Darth Vader and Son Postcard Book by Jeffrey Brown $9.95
    Darth Vader and Son Journal by Jeffrey Brown $9.95
    Gary Baseman Journal $9.99

  • off-site but of interest: Long-Arm Stapler First Aid: OPENING RECEPTION at Spudnik Press Cooperative

    Long-Arm-WEB
    Long-Arm Stapler First Aid: Self-Care In Zines and Mini Comics

    Curated by Liz Mason and Neil Brideau
    4/20/13 – 5/31/13
     
    Opening Reception: April 20, 2013 6:00 – 9:00pm
    The Annex @ Spudnik Press Cooperative,     1821 W Hubbard, Suite 303, Chicago, IL
    (NOT at Quimby’s)
    Whether we’re soothing, grooming or creating major life changes, we’re always involved in some sort of self-care, no matter how big or trivial. Drinking coffee, petting animals, getting stuff off our chests, confronting personal and societal demons, we are perpetually creating a space for our own personal world to exist healthfully in the bigger world. Indeed, the personal is social.
    Instead of relying on professional services, one can create change using a DIY mentality, often with the help of some sort of reference. At their core, the pieces in this group show suggest we must be our own proponents for health and well-being.
    The exhibit “Long-Arm Stapler First Aid” features pieces by a variety of zinesters and comics artists. The pieces discuss and/or illustrate self-care topics that both help themselves and inspire the reader to be their own advocate in self-improvement. In honor of self-publishing as a means to foster well-being, Spudnik Press is proud to host this exhibition featuring dozens of zine makers from across the country, including Edie Fake, Rinko Endo, Kathleen McIntyre, Ramsey Beyer, Liz Prince, Dina Kelberman, Sara McHenry, Maris Wicks, Beth Barnett, Nate Beaty, Raleigh Briggs, Danielle Chenette, Emilja Frances, Turtel Onli, Trubble Club, Caroline Paquita, Sarah McNeil, Milo Miller, Corinne Mucha, Kitari Sporrong, Missy Kulik, Cathy Leamy, Erick Lyle and more.
    Long Arm Stapler First Aid will also include a limited edition exhibition zine, compiled by Liz Mason, encompassing relevant self-care themes in zines and mini-comics such as: healing, grief, fitness, and medical issues. The exhibit will also feature a limited edition screenprint by Ramsey Beyer, published by Spudnik Press.
     
    This show brings together an assortment of zines and comics that address health-related issues ranging from mental to physical, personal to societal, and preventative to regenerative, including such specifics as grooming, food preparation, self-defense, coping strategies, defense mechanisms, mental or spiritual development and even soul enrichment. These largely self-published works address, at times, incredibly personal experiences, usually with a large dose of wit.
    Unlike a film or a painting, readers of zines and comics are able to engage with these works at their own pace, choosing when they are ready to confront the next page. Perhaps this is what allows authors to broach difficult, and often very personal, topics with great breadth of emotion, honesty, and clarity. Through the combination of words and images, artists are able to rely on multiple modes of communication to bring together the tangible and the cerebral.
    Why the long-arm stapler? It’s the symbol of home-stapled periodicals, the best kind of stapler to use for getting to the center of the page that a normal stapler can’t reach. And the very act of making a zine and mini comic (and reading) is considered a therapeutic caring action.
    Long live (and maintain, groom and sooth) the long-arm stapler!
    About the curators:
    Liz Masonis the manager of Quimby’s Bookstore, known for selling a variety of self-published works, as well as the editor and publisher for the zine Caboose.

    Neil Brideau is comics artist and comics sommelier at Quimby’s Bookstore, as well as an organizer of CAKE, Chicago’s Alternative Comics Expo.

    *Image Credit to Dina Kelbermann

  • New Stuff This Week

    oyez40Thanks to everybody who came out tonight for the Oyez Review party, to celebrate the new issue, #40 Spring 2013. Of course we still have a few left if you missed the event. Come get your copy now!

    Zines
    St Owls Bay Wet Swords by Simon Hanselmann (Floating World Comics) $5.00 – Hanselmann’s team of bitchy fuckups possesses such a well-unbalanced chemistry of neurosis, aggression and nonchalance you just can’t turn away. Camp drugs and night terriers…I’d expect no less from a trip with these clowns. -EF
    How Do I Look Show Catalogue $15.00
    Problem Solution #1 by Bianca Barragan $5.00
    Shards of Glass In Your Eye issues 7-9 by Kari Tervo $3.00 each
    No Condoms, No Piece, Why Condoms Should Be Mandatory In Pornography by Harmonica $1.00 – Harmonica argues the rubberclad case for condoms in porn, pro bono and pro boner. -EF
    Momentary Interaction by Gregg Evans $10.00 – Cruisin’ for a…..
    Lil Cat Bianca $10.00
    Bookstores and Baseball 5th Inning $4.00
    Alley Connoisseur #1 by Sam and Raf $2.00
    Awesome zines from the 2013 Chicago Zine Fest artist Laura Berger ($10.00 each): Seeing Clearly #1, Identifying Friends, Feel Better Now
    Pox Corpuscorpus #4 by Paul Nudd with tonso crazy artists like Onsmith, Grant Reynolds and more. $12.00
    Georgi and the Haunted Minivan Episode 3 My Month in Texas Daily Comic Issue by Georgi $1.00 – Georgi does daily comics about orbiting around Houston, van living and eating well. Don’t mess with it. -EF

    Comics & Comix
    New Jobs by Dash Shaw (Uncivilized Books) $5.00
    Laskimooses #10 Perustusten Pystyttaminen by Herra Matti Hagelbergin  $7.00
    Adventures in Ham Fisted Haberdashery #2 by Nick Soracco et al. $4.00
    Listen Part 1 $2.50
    Quit Yer Blubberin, A Lil Erwin Minature Adventure by Erwin Ledford $2.00
    Lost in Time Travel, Surrounded By Evil #1 by Hannah G. Thompson $5.00 – And issue #2 for $10.00
    Lou #12  by Melissa Mendes (Oily Comics) $1.00
    Noise #1  by Billy Burkert (Oily Comics) $1.00
    Young Dumb and Full of Cum #1 The Autobiography by Nick Drnaso (Oily Comics) $1.00
    Buddies #1 Oily Comics Whippets by Anna Haifisch (Oily Comics) $1.00
    Tiger Man #1 by Yost Winslow and Grant Rae (Oily Comics) $1.00
    Heyday Comics #5 Waking Days Will Never Die For Ones Who Live In Sleep by Daniel Elisii $3.00
    Unlucky Hunter #13 SAIC Spr 13 Underground Comix Anthology by Paul Nudd, Marlene Konig, Liz Avery and more $7.00
    Mystery: A Stream of Consciousness Historical Mystery Memoir (various issues) by Seamus O. Hames $2.00 each
    Beach Tumble issues #1 of 2 by Jon Drawdoer $2.00

    Graphic Novels & Trade Paperbacks
    Letting It Go by Miriam Katin (D&Q) $24.95
    Case of Charles Dexter Ward by HP Lovecraft and Inj Culbard (Self-Made Hero) $19.95
    Punk Rock Jesus TPB by Sean Murphy $16.99
    Work Burger (Stripburger) $20.00
    Mind MGMT HC vol 1 The Manager by Matt Kindt (Dark Horse) $19.99 – Collects issues #0 through #6.
    Passion of Gengoroh Tagame, Master of Gay Erotic Manga by Anne Ishii, Chip Kidd, and Graham Kolbeins (Picturebox) $29.95
    So Long Silver Screen by Blutch (Picturebox) $22.95
    Darwin – A Graphic Biography by Eugene Byrne and Simon Gurr (Smithsonian) $9.95

    Art & Design
    Cosey Complex by Maria Fusco and Richard Birkett (Koenig) $44.95
    Blood 2003 Earl McGrath Gallery Exhibition Book 2nd Ed by Mark Ryden (Last Gasp) $19.95
    Giant Eternal by Mike Giant (Gingko) $39.95
    Juxtapoz New Contemporary (Gingko) $29.95
    Draw Your Own Alphabets Thirty Fonts to Scribble Sketch and Make Your Own by Tony Seddon $19.95
    Flip the Script: A Guidebook for Aspiring Vandals and Typographers by Christian P. Acker (Upper Playground) $35.00
    Swissted: Vintage Rock Posters Remixed and Reimagined by Mike Joyce $40.00 – Includes 200 ready to frame posters!

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs, Music & Misc
    Who Was Dracula? Bram Stoker’s Trail of Blood by Jim Steinmeyer $26.95
    Ordinary Acrobat: The Journey Into the Wonderous World of the Circus Past and Present by Duncan Wall $26.95
    Wired Up: Glam, Proto Punk and Bubblegum: European Picture Sleeves 1970-1976 by Jeremy Thompson and Mary Blount (Wired Up Media) $39.95
    Wild: From Lost To Found On The Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed $15.95 – Now in soft cover.
    Gulp by Mark Roach $26.95 – Popular science writer tackles what happens in our body when we eat. Fecal transplant anyone?
    My Autobiography by Charlie Chaplin $20.00
    Bike Snob Abroad: Strange Customs, Incredible Fiets Quest for Cycling Paradise by Bike Snob NYC and Eben Weiss $16.95

    DIY
    Cannabis Cupcakes: 35 Mini Marijuana Cakes to Bake and Decorate by Chris Stone and Carol Ann $13.99
    Growing Medical Marijuana Securely and Legally by Dave DeWitt $19.99

    Politics & Revolution
    Anarchist FAQ vol 2 by Iain McKay (AK Press) $25.00
    Democracy Project: A History a Crisis a Movement by D. Graeber $26.00

    Fiction
    Train to Pokipse BY Rami Shamire $15.00
    Interestings by Meg Wolitzer $27.95
    Driving Alone by Kevin Helmick $10.00
    1Q84 Single Volume soft-cover edition by Haruki Murakami $16.95
    Keeping Bedlam at Bay in the Prague Cafe by M. Henderson Ellis (New Europe) $14.95

    Magazines
    Tom Tom Magazine #13 $6.00 – Magazine For Female Drummers. The Metal Issue.
    Juxtapoz #148 May 13 $5.99
    Hi-Fructose #27 $6.95
    King Brown #8 $28.00
    Best of Skunk vol 7 $7.99
    IdN vol 20 #1 $19.95
    IDN Extra 08 Typo Graphic Posters $25.00
    Dwell May 13 $5.99
    True Crime Mar 13 $8.99
    High Times Jun 13 $5.99
    Gothic and Lolita Bible #45 $35.00
    2600 Hacker Quarterly vol 30 #1 $6.25
    Flaunt Spr 13/Flaunt: Plutocracy Issue Fourteenth Anniversary $10.95 each
    State vol 3 Social Olfactory/State vol 4 Dubai $14.00 each
    Little Joe: Queers and Cinema Clubhouse Reader $13.00
    Mojo #233 Apr 13 $9.99
    Monocle vol 7 #62 Apr 13 $12.00
    Dissent Spr 13 $10.00

    Poetry, Lit Mags, Lit Journals, Chap Books
    The Baffler #22 $12.00
    McSweeneys #43 Fiction from South Sudan $27.00
    N Plus 1 #16 Spr 13 $13.95
    Pank #8 $10.00
    Coffin Factory #5 $9.00
    Midwestern Gothic #9
    Racket Games Basketball Camp Centerpiece Sultans Golden Cake Book $5.00

    Other Stuff
    Crazy weird wrapping paper from Pepin Press. Must see it to believe it!
    Advanced Dick Cancer Stage V Drawing Print and Hand of God #512 Drawing Print by Sloat and Greenstalk $1.00 each

  • Stories & Queer at Quimby’s 5/10

    SnQ

    Stories & Queer, a traveling reading series for queer and queer-friendly poets & writers, presents Deborah Miranda, Erika L. Sánchez, and Gregg Shapiro at Quimby’s.

    Deborah Miranda is the author of Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir (HeyDay Press, January 2013). Her collection of essays, The Hidden Stories of Isabel Meadows and Other California Indian Lacunae is under contract with University of Nebraska Press. As Associate Professor of English at Washington and Lee University, Deborah teaches Creative Writing (poetry and memoir), composition, and literature.

    Erika L. Sánchez is a poet and writer living in Chicago. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois at Chicago, holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico, and was a recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship to Madrid, Spain. She is a 2013 CantoMundo Fellow and a winner of the 2013 “Discovery”/Boston Review Prize. She is currently a contributor for Cosmopolitan for Latinas, The Huffington Post, and NBC Latino. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Pleiades, Witness, Hunger Mountain, Crab Orchard Review, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Copper Nickel, The Boston Review, and many others.

    Gregg Shapiro is the author of the chapbook GREGG SHAPIRO: 77 (Souvenir Spoon Press, 2012) and the poetry collection Protection (Gival Press, 2008). Shapiro is also an entertainment journalist whose interviews and reviews run in a variety of regional LGBT and mainstream publications and websites.

    For more info: storiesandqueer.org

    Friday, May 10, 7pm – Free Event

  • Pete Jordan Reads From In the City of Bikes: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist 5/5

    In The City Of Bikes Cover

    Pete Jordan, author of Dishwasher, tells the story of his love affair with Amsterdam, the city of bikes, all the while unfolding an unknown history of the city’s cycling, from the craze of the 1890s, through the Nazi occupation, to the bike-centric culture adored by the world today.

    Part personal memoir, part history of cycling, part fascinating street-level tour of Amsterdam, IN THE CITY OF BIKES: The Story of the Amsterdam Cyclist is the story of a man who loves bicycling in a city that is obsessed with bikes.

    When Pete’s story begins, his goals for an upcoming semester abroad are clear: study how to make America’s cities more bicycle friendly, and then return home—simple and straightforward. Once he sets foot in Amsterdam, however, Pete falls immediately in love with the city that already lives life on two wheels—and suddenly, he can’t imagine living anywhere else.

    But hardships loom in Pete’s adopted homeland. As Pete skips from one short-term apartment rental to the next, stability stays just out of reach and work is increasingly difficult to find. Meanwhile he stumbles upon unforeseen pleasures in his daily bike rides and begins his dig into the city’s cycling past. What he discovers there is no less an untold cultural history of Amsterdam.

    From cycling’s beginning as an elitist pastime in the 1890s to the street-consuming craze of the 1920s, from the bicycle’s role in city-wide resistance to the Nazi occupation to the legendary (yet mythical) success of the White Bikes in the 1960s all the way up to the mysterious bike fishermen of today, in IN THE CITY OF BIKES Jordan illuminates the bicycle’s integral role in shaping both the psyche and city of Amsterdam.

    “An excellent choice for bikers and those who appreciate how a city’s history can be changed by the simplest of passions.”

    –Kirkus Reviews

     

    “Part memoir, part history, the book gives readers looking to unlock the city’s secrets an opportunity to follow in the author’s tracks.”

    –Publishers Weekly

    Pete Jordan is the author of the memoir Dishwasher: One Man’s Quest to Wash Dishes in All Fifty States. Pete’s work has been featured on public radio’s “This American Life” and in The New York Times. He lives with his son in Amsterdam.

    Sunday, May 5th, 3pm – Free Event

    For more info, download In the City of Bikes Press Release from the publisher.

  • Ian Svenonius Reads From Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock 'n' Roll Group 5/7

    SupernaturalStrategiesCoverTRUE ROCK ’N’ ROLL SECRETS REVEALED! DC SINGER IAN F. SVENONIUS COMMUNES WITH DEAD MUSICIANS TO CREATE A HOW-TO GUIDE FOR MAKING A SUCCESSFUL ROCK ’N’ ROLL GROUP

    Don’t miss rock icon Ian Svenonius reading from his provocative, extremely hilarious, and bizarrely erudite book entitled “Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock ‘n’ Roll Group.” The book pretends to be a “how-to” guide for people wanting to start a rock band, but it is so much more — fusing a meticulously researched sociopolitical examination of the history of rock and roll music with Ian’s trademark humor and cutting wit, one of the best rock and roll satires ever written.  The author, who is most well-known as the singer of The Nation of Ulysses and The Make-Up, two of the most popular bands to emerge from DC’s Dischord record label, is a charismatic showman and performer. He is also the author of the underground smash book of essays The Psychic Soviet.

    “People now expect a nice ‘career’ from their music. This is misguided and, today, perhaps impossible. Suffering is necessary to maintain the integrity of the group as an object.” —Brian Jones, Rolling Stones, as told to Ian F. Svenonius from beyond the grave

    “Rock ’n’ roll is an American art, brought about by the Industrial Revolution, the harnessing of electricity, and the miscegenation of various poor, exploited, and indentured cultures in the USA.” —Jimi Hendrix, as told to Ian F. Svenonius from beyond the grave

    “Since [this] is a nation founded on the ideas of individualism, rebellion, evangelism, white supremacy, black slavery, expulsion of native peoples, expansionism, and commerce, these values all play a part in the formation of the USA’s primary and arguably greatest cultural export.” —Richard Berry, composer of “Louie, Louie, as told to Ian F. Svenonius from beyond the grave

    Supernatural Strategies for Making a Rock ’n’ Roll Group addresses never-before-discovered revelations about that most beloved American cultural pastime; not only does this book help the aspiring inge?nue to start his or her own rock ’n’ roll group, it also confronts the strange and murky origins of the group itself and the reason for its ubiquity and cultural currency, still going strong since its initial, shocking, and cataclysmic appearance during the cold war.

    BY TALKING TO DEAD ROCK ’N’ ROLL STARS such as Brian Jones, Jim Morrison, et al., for pointers, Svenonius—the front man of influential groups The Nation of Ulysses and The Make-Up, and currently the singer of Chain & the Gang—is able to furnish a more complete picture than the normal myopic critic/historian eggheads. Supernatural Strategies proposes the origins of the group to be not just blues music as is commonly supposed, but also the street gangs which terrorized the landscape of industrial-era America, and which were romanticized in media (e.g., Westside Story).

    SUPERNATURAL STRATEGIES EXPLAINS THAT THE GROUPS’ use as a propaganda instrument against Socialist ideology was central to their proliferation during the postwar era, and suggests that the continued tolerance of the presence of groups might only be totemistic, as they have possibly outlived their usefulness to the elite.

    THE BOOK OUTLINES THE SIGNIFICANCE of group names, live concerts, vans, sex, drugs, band photos, records, record labels, recording studios, and all the other bugaboos which serially feature in group life. It explains the future relevance of groups and the strategies that groups can use to successfully understand and embody their destinies, historic roles, and responsibilities. It is a must- read for anyone who is alive in the early portion of the new century.

    SUPERNATURAL STRATEGIES is a combination of occult esoterica, how-to manual, socioeconomic textbook, fanzine, and revolutionary pamphlet, this book is bound to overtake Plato, McLuhan, Marx, and Hesse in dogs eared.

    This book touches on such related topics as: How rock ‘n’ roll emerged from American gang culture; The role of the Soviet Union in modern popular culture; Why it’s crucial that members of rock ‘n’ roll groups communicate with each other in an indirect manner; Why music groups need strict codes of discipline; The historic underpinning of groupie culture, and the related issue of necrophilia; The influence of the Black Panthers on rock ‘n’ roll music; The significance of vans and other motorized vehicles to rock ‘n’ roll beyond the obvious transportation aspect; The diminishing meaning of the rock ‘n’ roll group in 2013 and beyond; What young musicians today can still learn from Buddy Holly, Richard Berry, and Brian Jones.

    For more info:
    Ian’s Soft Focus series, where he “tenderly interrogates” the likes of Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Chan Marshall (Cat Power), and Adam Horovitz (Beastie Boys), among others: vice.com/soft-focus.

    Check out these links for a small sampling of what some of the press is saying about the book so far:
    Onion A/V Club
    Los Angeles Times
    American Songwriter
    Mother Jones

    Click here to download the publisher’s press release:
    SupernaturalStrategiesPress Release

    Press and publicity inquiries can be directed to Ibrahim Ahmad: ibrahim(at)akashicbooks(dot)com.

    Don’t miss the official after party at The Owl where Ian and Calvin Johnson will be DJing at The Owl from 10-4. Ian will have a mixtape soundtrack for the book for sale at the after party. These will be a numbered edition of 100 tapes with silk screened covers. 2521 N. Milwaukee.
    Screen shot 2013-04-11 at 2.04.27 PM

  • New Stuff This Week

    If Nothing Else the Sky by Dave Roche $5.00 – Roche’s travel writing from Australia, Singapore and Malaysia -punk shows, penguin bites, koala sanctuaries and a lotta lotta LAX.
    ifnothingsky_med
    Zines
    Incandescent #3 Others Memories a Color Film Zine by Marissa Csanyi, ed and Helen Jones, ed (Pine Island Press) $14.00 – an international sampling of color photography that cohesively evokes a cold morning mountaintop, cigarettes in a small town and stepping into a wood panel interior.
    incandescent3_med
    Judas Goat Quarterly #57 by Grant Schreiber $1.50
    Records as Portable Exhibitions and Interactive Participatory Objects b Temporary Services $4.00
    Zauber by Tina $1.00
    Laika #1  $1.25
    Ooze Heads #1 $3.00
    Guide to Being Alone #1 (Vice Versa Press) $4.00
    Mumbo #10 by D. Tosh $8.00 – Includes pieces from Crumb’s 1964 sketchbook.
    Delineatas Magicae Mysticum Cacas vols 1 and 2 by Suuimorb Ecnad $6.20 each
    When the Crash Meets Something Solid #10 Strip It to the Bone by Gabrielle Congrave $3.00
    arty zines from Booklyn: printed companions to a few exhibitions curated by Aimee Lusty, shows with titles such as Weird World, I Want You to Have Nice Things and Preserve and Protect.
    Last Meals #1 by Jeremy Mlodik and Emily Schulert $3.00
    P Is for Party #1 by Emily Schulert $1.00

    Comics & Comix
    SAW Guide to Gainesville Wildlife by John Porcellino $3.00
    Happy Hour in America #4 by Tim Lane $5.00
    Weird Magazine #3 by Noel Freibert (Closed Caption Comics) $10.00
    Fukitor #8 by Jason Karns $10.00
    Haunted Forest by Mickey Z. $5.00
    Larva Dec 12 #16 $8.00
    Star by Sami Aho $8.75
    Tusen Hjartan Stark #1 by Warren Craghead et al. (Domino Books) $3.00
    Journey to the Southern Oracle: A Neverending Fanzine by Megan Kirby $3.00 – Yes, a zine about the book and the movie. Very cute! Also by this artist: Coffee Spoons #2 $3.00, Understimulated Over Caffeinated $2.00

    Graphic Novels and Trade Paperbacks
    Are You My Mother? A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel $15.95 – Now in soft cover.
    Julio’s Day by Gilbert Hernandez (Fantagraphics) $19.99 – Don’t miss Gilbert Hernandez here at Quimby’s on April 18th!
    Relish: My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley $17.99
    Tyrex by Mauro Entrialgo $15.95
    Nube De Moscas by Mrz $15.00
    Distancia Entre Extranos Monica Naranjo Uribe $15.00
    Race to Incarcerate – a Graphic Retelling by Sabrina Jones and Marc Mauer $17.95
    How to Fake a Moon Landing: Exposing the Myths of Science Denial by Darryl Cunningham $16.95
    Recounting Streets by Juan Berrio $24.95
    Adventures of Jodelle by Guy Peellaert and Pierre Bartier (Fantagraphics) $45.00
    Kick Ass 2 TPB by Mark Millar $19.99
    Pretty by Antoinette Lavin $12.00
    50 Girls 50 and Other Stories and Al Williamson (Fantagraphics) $28.99
    Taint the Meat Its the Humanity and Other Stories: Illustrated Tales from the Crypt by Jack Davis (Fantagraphics) $28.99
    Art & Design
    Pinxit HC by Mark Ryden (Taschen) $69.99
    Warp and Weft Poster Construction by Sonnenzimmer $40.00
    Pictures On Surrounding Objects by Alisha Wessler $8.00
    Beyond Tattoo Art Graphics and Illustration by Worlds Leading Tattoo Artists by Allen Graves (Graffito) $34.95
    Worlds End 2012 Cycle Messenger World Championship Chicago by Christopher Dilts $23.00

    Mayhem, Miscreants, Memoirs, Music & Misc
    I Dreamed I was a Very Clean Tramp: An Autobiography by Richard Hell $25.99
    Present Shock: When Everything Happens Now by Douglas Rushkoff $26.95
    The Stone Roses: War and Peace – The Definitive Story by Simon Spence $19.99
    Francois Truffaut the Complete Films by Robert Ingram et al. (Taschen) $14.99
    This is Portland: The City Youve Heard You Should Like (Cantankerous) $5.95
    The Peoples Apocalypse by Ariel Gore and Jenny Forrester (Lit Star) $15.95
    No Permanent Scars by Michael Hemery $16.00
    Protect Your Garden: Eco Friendly Solutions for Healthy Plants by Ed Rosenthal $24.95

    Politics & Revolution
    Towards Collective Liberation: Anti-Racist Organizing Feminist Praxis Movement Building Strategy by Chris Crass (PM Press) $20.00
    Maroon – The Implacable Collected Writings of Russell Maroon Shoatz (PM Press) $20.00
    No Billionaire Left Behind: Satirical Activism in America by Angelique Haugerud $24.95
    Disassembly Required: A Field Guide to Actually Existing Capitalism by Geoff Mann (AK Press) $14.95
    Autonomy Cover Designs of Anarchy 1961-1970 by Daniel Poyner $40.00

    Fiction
    Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson $16.00
    Squirrels Breakfast by Kathleen Rudolph $21.99
    War Is Language 101 Short Works by Nath Jones $4.99

    Magazines
    Design Bureau Apr 13 $8.00
    ArtForum Apr 13 $10.00
    American Atheist 2nd Quarter 13 $4.95
    Skeptic vol 18 #1 $6.95
    Bizarre #199 Apr 13 $10.50
    Lula #16 $17.99
    Gothic Beauty #39 $6.95
    Dear Dave Magazine #13 $15.00
    Skunk vol 8 #7 $5.99
    Scootering Mar 13 #321 $8.99
    Dwell Renovattion Special Spr 13 $9.99
    Alarmist Magazine #2 $14.99
    Fangoria #322 $9.99
    Wax Poetics #54 $11.99
    Under the Radar #45 $5.95
    In These Times Apr 13 $3.50
    Progressive Apr 13 $4.95
    RFD #153 Spr 13 $9.95
    CCI vol 8 Central City Ink Magazine Special Lmited Edition $4.95
    Tabu Tattoo #51 $7.99

    Poetry, Lit Mags, Lit Journals, Chap Books
    Make #12 Spr 13 Architectural $12.00
    American Reader issues #1-#4 $10.00 each
    Stranger Air by Stacie Leatherman $14.95
    Exact Change Only Win 13 $10.00
    Bodily Matters by Neil Dilauro $17.99
    Paris Review #204 $15.00
    Bomb #123 Spr 13 $7.95

    Kids
    Happy Punks 123 a Counting Story by John (Manic D) $15.95
    Open the Door: How to Excite Young People About Poetry by Dorothea Lasky et al. (McSweeneys) $16.00
    Sky Full of Kindness by Rob Ryan $18.95
    Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book by Johanna Basford $14.95
    Benjamin Bear in Bright Ideas by Philippe Courdray $12.95
    Johnny Boo Does Something by James Kochalka (Top Shelf) $9.95

    Other Stuff
    More Moleskines! 18 month planners (start in July of 2013 and go up through the end of 2014). A variety of sizes and colors.

  • Off-Site: Quimby's Co-Sponsors 826CHI's PROMIC-CON 4/27

    PROMicon logo
    Quimby’s is proud to help co-sponsor 826CHI’s PROMIC-CON!

    In the grand tradition of proms past,  presents “Promic-Con,” an evening wholly dedicated to celebrating the glory of fandoms and cosplay. Forget everything you know about high school prom.

    At 8:00pm on April 27th, come to the School of the Art Institute Ballroom dressed in all manners of fandom (or secondhand formal-wear) for a night of costuming, silent auctioning, (free) drinking, raffling, geeking out, and DANCING.

    Beam yourself up (well, over) to the official Promic-Con web site to purchase your tickets:  $40 for one, $75 for two. All proceeds from the event benefit 826CHI’s free writing programs for thousands of Chicago students.

    Updates and details about the silent auction will be posted on the Facebook event page.

    Details: official Promic-Con web site

    Please note: this event is NOT at Quimby’s. It is at the School of the Art Institute Ballroom at 112 South Michigan Avenue, between Monroe St & Adams St. Also note, Quimby’s is not selling tickets, but rather, you must purchase tickets at the official Promic-Con web site.

    Been in a plastic bag for like the past five years?  826CHI is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6 to 18 with their creative and expository writing skills, and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

    promicconflyer

  • Off-site Event: Karaoke Idol April Edition 4/25

    KI
    Quimby’s is proud to co-sponsor this monthly series at Beauty Bar Chicago, which raises funds for Chicago not-for-profits and culturally minded aspiring businesses. One singer each from Chicago-based companies and organizations will battle it out to determine who will wear the crown of KARAOKE IDOL! And one lucky competitor will be chosen from the crowd to compete with the other representatives from local businesses. Maybe that’s you?

    This month’s edition is on April 25th. Celebrity Judges Mason Johnson, Amy Guth, & Jacob Knabb, and KJ Gods “Shameless Karaoke” will preside.

    Please note: this event is NOT at Quimby’s. It is at the Beauty Bar Chicago, at 1444 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60642.

    More info: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karaoke-Idol-Chicago/485722288105544