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1. •  
     CommentAuthorTheremina
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

    (7593.61)
   NEIL! Hi, sweetie! Oof... I miss my carny family. Can't wait to peruse your Ball photo essay-- it'll be the next best thing to being there. (Make sure you get a hawt shot of Nadya!)
   
   Happy to see some of our contributors stopping by... I noticed Joshua popped in for a sec (COME BACK!!) and David Forbes has been quick to voice some keen insights. David, when's your next blog edition of All Tomorrows going up?
   
   I just finished formatting a huge, nourishing slab of a post contributed by staffer Jeff Wengrofsy and his Syndicate of Human Image Traffickers. It's an in-depth interview with Jo "Boobs" Weldon --a grand dame of the NYC burlesque revival. Egads, she's sharp. Check it out. Lot of fascinating exposition about the history and significance of American burlesque, and her place in it. Hopefully I can coax Jeff over here to chat a bit about it (I think it's one of his best interviews yet), his recent foray into video interview, and some of the magnificent older pieces he's produced for Coilhouse. Mark Mothersbaugh, Michael Gira, Sonny Vincent, Reverend Billy, Suzette Brunkhorst & Ronald Eissens, Peter Ivers, Jack Terricloth, and the list goes on. Jeff's our beloved "spy in NY". We can always count on him to dig in and ask the hard questions. He's scrappy. We like scrappy. Most of us could us a bit more scrappy in our diets.
   
   @Oddbill
   Sorry to torture your poor eyeballs. For what it's worth, you are the first person to directly acknowledge the coding's existence, let alone attempt to crack it, so mazeltov! Keep digging. A hint: take it section by section. A magnifying glass might help.
   
   I'll be honest--I think we're going to work on making Coilhouse easier on the eyes (literally) from here on out. Would any of you object to our using slightly larger fonts? Do you think it would degrade or improve your reading experience?
   
   I gotta go pass out. It's been a wonderful day. Thanks, Whitechapel. See you tomorrow!
2. • CommentAuthoratavistian
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

    (7593.62)
   No objection on my end.
   
   Been a committed reader/Coilhouse pimp since Episode, er, I mean Issue 2 (missed the first one by days). Your magazine renews my faith in the weird.
   
   A common theme that comes up around here is what Warren listens to while writing. Is there anything in particular that you, collectively or individually, often have playing while you create?
   
   Second, and more cliche, question: what do you think are the three most important qualities in a person?
3. • CommentAuthorJJVV
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

    (7593.63)
   Ti Kanis Meredith? (do you speak Greek by the way? when was the last time you were there?) My parents are from Ithaki (like Odysseus) but I have been lucky enough to travel through most of the Peloponese (Tripoli, Sparta, Tolo, Olympia, Patra) and the Aegean as well (Mykonos, Santorini, etc).
   
   You hit the nail on the head in regards to "cookie cutter" subcultures popping up in Greece: Hip Hop (very prevalent in popular music and dress styles) and goth (an offshoot of the metal underground in Greece which was always popular) are the ones I see the most (disturbingly there is also an rich US girl/Paris Hilton wannabee subculture emerging as well)..some may make you cringe but there is sincerity about those that adopt the culture there..know what I mean? They are truly expressing themselves and striving for something different from the norm they knew for years and years.
   
   Modern Greek music has been infused with hip hop, dance, trance, alternative, etc beats...you can even hear remixes of old Gianni Parios songs in dance clubs in Athens..lots of fun and an interesting mix of old and new. The clubs will play US music, classic Greek and then a fusion of the two.
   
   Greek TV is where you can see the most changes...before you had 1-2 state run stations (ERT) and now Greeks have embraced trash reality garbage tv..real trainwreck stuff..you can catch a classic film starring Vouyouklaki and then an American idol rip off where some bimbo (shameless in Greece) gets judged by some sexually ambiguous Greek guy!
   
   All these changes also stem from the fact that since Greece joined the EU the country has seen an influx of 3rd world immigrants...it is amazing to see a Nigerian guy speak to you in Greek on the streets of Athens...Greece in a way was its own monoculture..it was just Greek but has now been infused by Romanians, Serbes, Nigerians, Chinese, and many more. Some growing pains for sure but there is also a definite mix of culture (through relationships/marriages) that Greece has not seen in a long time and that is a good thing. Greeks can be racist and close minded but at the same time very open minded and giving.
   
   My mom said it best - we are a country that is schizo - religious but very sexual, European but Mediteranean, new world and 3rd world, close minded but open minded...
   
   Great conversation..don't want to hijack the thread but would love to hear more of your thoughts on this!
4. • CommentAuthorUrbanAngel
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

    (7593.64)
   Am ordering issues 3+4 right now (if anyone is interested, it costs £21.87 for both issues incl. UK shipping).
   It's weird but my boyfriend is friends with Mildred. London has stolen her back *cackles*. Hope to meet her in Torture Garden or Slimelight.. you never know! That would also explain why I saw ZoeticaEbb in one of her Facebook photos!
   
   Edit: This reminded me that I haven't bought the new Bizarre Magazine issue yet. Just went to their website and my office's firewall blocked it saying, "You have been denied access to this site as it was categorized as: "Pornography"." Oops. Wonder if I'll get an e-mail from IT Security. It's not pornography though!
5. • CommentAuthorIronRinn
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

    (7593.65)
   InfamousAmos said:

   Are there any blackballed public figures written on a white board in Coilhouse HQ with a big circle/slash around them?

   
   
   I believe Zoe actually already answered this: Carrot Top. I have submitted multiple articles, requiring hours of time, research, and effort, exploring the work of our generation's most brilliant comedian. All of these have been rejected. As such, I am currently looking for a publisher willing to print my 1300 page opus Through a Ginger Lens: A Study of the Mind of a 20th Century Genius or: How Carrot Top Saved Civilization With a Mop and a Rubber Fish
   
   But other than Carrot Top there hasn't been anyone that The Three have declared off limits, no.
   
   Ross Rosenberg
6. • CommentAuthorWengrofsky
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

    (7593.66)
   Greetings from New York City !
   
   My name is Jeff Wengrofsky, and, as Meredith said above, I'm a staff writer for Coilhouse and now also direct-produce films with the Syndicate of Human Image Traffickers (www.humansyndicate.com). We've just began broadcast of our third film - "Jo Boobs Teaches the Va-Va Voom" - on our website and on the Coilhouse site. Our next film - slated for a March 2010 release - will be an interview with MacArthur "genius" award winning playwright Richard Foreman. In the months to follow, we will release articles-films on Judith Malina, anarchist community center ABCNORIO, photogrpaher Sarah Small, film maker Martha Colburn, actor and Warhol Superstar Taylor Mead, and others. Soundtracks to our films have been commissioned to members of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Mars Volta, KMFDM,
   The Buddy Hollycost, the World/Inferno Friendship Society, Exorcismo del Capitalismo, The Nixon-Mao Handshake and our reel of coming contraptions was scored by J.G. Thirlwell (FOETUS). The Jo Boobs film was scored by Franz Nicolay of the World/Inferno. Please take a looksie !
   
   We hope to post a film-article a month through 2010. The idea behind this film series is to examine the politics and aporias of cultural creativity. I try to ask questions that I can't answer from a variety of perspectives. There is a mystical, Kabbalistic view that reality has seven facets and that understanding the world requires becoming aquainted with any particular subject from seven perspectives. While I don't literally adhere to the numerology or the theology behind this view, the idea of creating a poly-vocal text to invite the reader into a conversation is an ingredient of my inspiration.
   
   Best wishes,
   
   Jeff
7. • CommentAuthorWengrofsky
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

    (7593.67)
   Hi,
   
   Sorry. I wrote that Franz Nicolay is of the World/Inferno. He WAS in that band, but is PRESENTLY in The Hold Steady and Major General.
   
   With regard,
   
   Jeff
8. •  
     CommentAuthorrickiep00h
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

    (7593.68)
   Hey ladies. I gush about you all the time, so I'll let that rest for now. I do have a question, though.
   
   A few months back, one of you (I honestly don't remember which one) was having a conversation on Twitter with Chet Zar and the subject of him possibly getting interviewed by the mag came up, to which I said I would buy the shit out of that issue. Did anything come of that? Are you allowed to say? Am I allowed to ask?
   
   Cuz I would still buy the shit out of that issue. I would anyway, but... you know, even more so with Chet Zar in there.
   
   Also, Ross Rosenberg's contributions to the blog are always amazing. Do you ever give him specific ideas ("go find a video about _____") or does he come to you with bizarro things? In fact, that could go out for most of the contributors. Do you do much in the way of assignments, or does the Coilhouse Family just come in with whatever they care to write about?
9. •  
     CommentAuthorMickierat
   • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

    (7593.69)
   As for my opinion on alternative culture, I say it's far from dead, it's just being severely co-opted right now by marketing rapists, as it has always been. The only difference is that now with the economy's nosedive, there's not as much money to sponsor the homogenizing of it all. People like the Coilhouse crew are helping to bring back alternative culture by keeping it alive and daring to shove a new print mag in the face of everyone screaming PRINT IS DEAD.
   
   In the near future, everyone will realize that DIY creations (like Coilhouse and others) that are smart enough to know how to work within reasonable financial limits are going to be the ones that survive. Example: Maximumrocknroll Magazine. It may not be pretty, but it has been publishing for over 25 years and shows no signs of going under. It's the prime shining example of micropatronage.
   
   I have not yet had the opportunity or the financial means to see a hard copy of Coilhouse, but I read the online version daily and it is on my rss feed (a good way to read it at work if they block everything fun like they do at mine) and I love it to death. It has turned me on to one of my new favorite authors (Cherie Priest) and favorite artists (Andy Ristaino) and i'm sure will continue to bring me new things to love.
   
   @Nadya-- Reading the list of your influences explains a lot and gives you tons of credibility in my opinion, and tells me that you are coming purely from a place of passion for the art form with your publishing intentions. Girl's Guide, Mondo, Ben Is Dead, all great vehicles for getting into the print underground. I've been a zine hound forever myself, being mainly obsessed with Cometbus these days, especially his forays into novelization.
   
   @Theremina --- If you were to score a Bill Watterson interview it would be the scoop of the century. I've heard he speaks to no one. I would be thrilled beyond tears to read that.
   
   @zoetica --- Love the illustrations. This may sound odd, but I would love to see you illustrate a children's book, I think it would be just the thing to ignite the imagination of future generations. Mine was jump-started by Maurice Sendak mostly, among others.
   
   Now that I'm done with my fanboy rambling, here's my question. Feel free to not answer any parts you don't want to:
   
   Does the mag pay for itself usually or is it more of an out-of-pocket labor of love, done for the sheer enjoyment of the creators? I'm hoping it's the former as I'm sure you do, but I know from experience (been in the same diy punk band for 15+years) that most people who are doing things that they love are not becoming millionaires off of doing so.
10. • CommentAuthorjessnevins
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.70)
    So, hi. My name is Jess Nevins, and I wrote an article for issue #3, and I may have one in issue #5.
    
    I'm often asked how I get to write for Coilhouse. Livejournal, Twitter, at my son's playground, the questions always come in: "how can I write for Coilhouse? How?"
    
    I can't speak for the other writers, but in my case it was several months of service as a cabana boy for Mer. White shirt, tight shorts, cold fruity drinks on demand, afternoon massages, and so on.
    
    I hope this clears up any confusion about the process of being accepted as a writer for Coilhouse.
11. •  
      CommentAuthorMike Black
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

     (7593.71)

    By lost, do you mean absorbed/overexposed/commodified, or....? I agree there's been a lot of churning, and it tends to make the waters murkier, more diluted. Is that what you mean?

    
    
    I suppose I'm referring to "lost in the mix". Things get chewed up by the mainstream, and mainstream alt culture, grow, shift, and are regurgitated at an ever increasing rate since the inception of the internet. Speaking specifically in terms of musical subcultures, Horror Punks were wholly appropriated by Psychobillies, who infected the pin-up culture to the point that people like Angela Ryan are almost "mainstream". Perhaps I'm being a big defensive about being over looked, as I stand hip-deep in something like the Sludge culture - a stoner/doom outcropping of the metal scene that fully embraces Southern American culture (from muddy Delta Blues to methamphetamines, biscuits and gravy to bong resin) as much as beats like Ginsberg or Kerouac.
    
    Then again, I might be assigning more cultural significance to people who play metal slow and heavy than is really there. (Although, I suppose, that is the point.)
12. • CommentAuthorstratocirrus
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.72)
    Dear Coilhouse Trinity,
    
    How does one maintain a dedication to the weird and alt while 'growing up'/becoming an adult with a job and responsibilities? How do you stay inspired and curious?
    Also, Coilhouse has never covered or mentioned Angela Carter despite her work being very coilhausy. Are you familiar with her work and what do you think of it?
    
    Sincerely yours,
    Anonymous cloudstructure
13. •  
      CommentAuthorZoetica
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

     (7593.73)

    A few months back, one of you (I honestly don't remember which one) was having a conversation on Twitter with Chet Zar and the subject of him possibly getting interviewed by the mag came up, to which I said I would buy the shit out of that issue. Did anything come of that? Are you allowed to say? Am I allowed to ask?

    
    That would be me. Like you, I'm a huge fan of Chet's work. On top of infinite admiration of his technical skill and imagination, to me there is something incredibly comforting about his monsters; they're strangely familiar. Yes, Chet's paintings make me happy. I mean, just look at this guy:
    
    
    
    Regarding your other questions, of course you're allowed to ask, but in doing so you must prepare to be met with a thick, steely wall of silence, like this: ||||||||||||. This doesn't mean we don't love you, just that we like our content classified until the right time.
    

    I can't speak for the other writers, but in my case it was several months of service as a cabana boy for Mer. White shirt, tight shorts, cold fruity drinks on demand, afternoon massages, and so on. I hope this clears up any confusion about the process of being accepted as a writer for Coilhouse.
    

    
    Ah yes, this explains those photos of you I saw in Mer's Blackmail Vault.
    

    @zoetica --- Love the illustrations. This may sound odd, but I would love to see you illustrate a children's book, I think it would be just the thing to ignite the imagination of future generations. Mine was jump-started by Maurice Sendak mostly, among others.
    

    
    Thank you! Love Sendak's stuff, too. It doesn't sound odd at all - I'm open to illustrating a children's book, right after I'm done blushing from the "ignite the imagination of future generations" comment [thank you]. Seriously though, that's definitely something I'd love to accomplish at a not-too-distant point in my life. When we still lived in Communist-era Russia, my mom worked at now-defunct Progress - a big publishing house in Moscow. Her specialty was French translation, but in her spare time she wrote and published at least ten short books for kids. My favorite was a poem about a snail, if I recall correctly [edit: mom says it was a story about a spider], and reading it at the age of five was the first time I wished I'd illustrated a book. I devoured everything I could get my hands on as a kid, and the incredible illustrations were a huge part of what inspired me to start drawing in the first place. I recently started a series of posts on the Coilhouse blog about just that, actually. I kept my favorite childhood books and have been scanning and cataloging them. You can see the first two posts here and here.
    
    
14. •  
      CommentAuthorMarkPowell
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

     (7593.74)
    Hi all,
    
    cheers muchly for kind words re: the Jodorowsky and Hauntings pieces this issue. Major bonus credit for them actually landing in #4 must also go to all three Coilhouse keystones - both features ran late for various implausibly Kafkaesque reasons, and to describe Mer/Nadya/Zo's collective patience as 'a virtue' would be under-egging the pudding to the point of, like, TERMINAL EGGLESSNESS. Shush, it's a word.
    
    So yeah, Mer encouraged me to drop by and say hello here (praise be to Warren for hosting us all, nice one fella), and it's really ace to see other familiar names/faces piling in too. Come to think of it, there's so much actual weapons-grade info flying about the place already, anything unsolicited I add is bound to be this board's equivalent of turning up the Ambassador's reception wearing a barrel held up with braces. That said, if there's anything specific anybody wants to ask, by all means fire away.
    
    Much tincture-chinking and general mwah-age to the spectacular 'Haus triumvirate, the ever-humbling flock of other contributors their BRVTAL-as-all-fuck siren song has lured, and basically anyone who digs this twisted Behemoth of a magazine half as much as I always have/will.
15. •  
      CommentAuthorAlastair
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.75)
    to the triumvate house of coil.
    
    are you ever planning on doing an article collection or similar book of sorts?
    
    
    coffee table type perhaps? cause issues of magazines tend to get a bit tatty when lent to friends for checking out and the like
16. •  
      CommentAuthorJeff Owens
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.76)
    What is all of this business about an ideal Ikea ghost?
    
    I'm loving issue four, so far. It is, sadly, the first magazine I have bought in quite some time. The other side of that coin is that you managed to get me to buy a magazine!
    
    As far as what I would like to see more of in Coilhouse, I would say the spooky and magickal catch my interest, but really, it seems clear you all have a firm grip on how to make an interesting periodical worth my time and money, so what I would like to see most of is what you are most passionate about, because I'll read anything written with passion, even if it's about a dog digging up some dirt to bury a bone under.
    
    I ordered Coilhouse #4 for the Morrison interview, having no idea that I would end up wanting to devour every page of it. The Jodorowsky interview was a wonderful surprise, as was the entire theme of the issue.
    
    As far as what the future holds for print or anything, I've never been good with predictions.
    
    @nadya
    
    

    So you just keep going with what you love. Just because you didn't "make it" by a certain age, it doesn't matter.

    
    
    This is something I remind many disillusioned friends of often. Burroughs (who you referenced in the same post I quoted, I believe) is a constant source of inspiration to me. He gave up on writing for years, only to get back to it when, if memory serves, he was about forty. And even then, it's not like he was some glamorous superstar that lived "the life", yet he is thought of as a great man by many.
    
    I can't seem to find any subscription information. Am I missing it? Do you not offer subscriptions? If not, are there plans to? I would strongly consider getting one for myself, as I'm sure would many others.
    
    P.S. Death Metal Rooster kind of made my day.
17. •  
      CommentAuthorZoetica
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010 edited

     (7593.77)
    Since this is Tea and Cookies with Coilhouse, I would like to take a moment and formally welcome all of our guests and extended family with a new batch of cookies.
    
    
    
    Beautiful, aren't they? Sadly, those are just some JPGs from the internet. I made you these:
    
    
18. •  
      CommentAuthorJeff Owens
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.78)
    Why do I think that's not frosting?
19. • CommentAuthoricelandbob
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.79)
    @Jeff Owens
    
    it´s more the filthy cookie goo action in the second pic that for my interest piqued...
20. •  
      CommentAuthorJP Carpenter
    • CommentTimeJan 19th 2010

     (7593.80)
    Dammit, that issue 3+4 offer cracked me and I've parted with cash... or at least my credit card company has parted with cash...
    
    But gladly, as the first two issues are such things of beauty and I don't want to miss out on more.
    
    What's lovely about Coilhouse, I think, is the relationship between the magazine and the blog and the fact that the whole enterprise feels quite intimate. I wish there was something like this when I was a teenager (perhaps there was, but not as accessible and certainly not with the internetz).