Puzz

by Brad Searles

In every issue of Good Citizen, I spotlight the folks behind a different area 'zine. This issue's Puzz focuses on those responsible for Poo-Poo Magazine. I overslept and barely made this interview, which took place at noon on a humid Wednesday. Picture the scene: Me, Editor M.C. Caucasian Pump, asst. editor Vanilla Christ, a basement and a couple of couches... (B- Me, P-Pimp, V- Vanilla.)

B: So when did Poo-Poo start and why?

P: It started in August '93... Pope Homeslice IV and I basically got drunk, came up with our pseudonyms, and came up with the name. I had just won a Macintosh Classic computer, and I figured when I had a computer, I'd start doing a 'Zine.

B: You won a computer?

P: Yeah, my grandmother threw me in a contest and I won. I didn't believe her, and one day just showed up in the mail.

V: Grandmothers are the queens of contests... She could win a Boeing jet through a contest.

P: She even gets contest 'zines in the mail..  She's mid-80s, man. Anyway, we sat up, drank, thought up the name of the 'zine, and wrote half of it. It was supposed to be a joke in the beginning...

B: Did you just plan on doing one?

P: We weren't sure... We didn't even care at the time. It was honestly supposed to be a joke...

V: As opposed to the joke it is now... Let's not confuse the two...

P: Right, of course. Vanilla Christ came in at issue two with his "Sexual Solitaire: an Ode to Pope Homeslice IV" article we started changing a little bit.

V: We got skillful. We actually went out and 

bought some talent. Another local 'zine was shutting down and they were having a sell-out sale on talent. It wasn't a very good 'zine, but we were broke anyway. Fortunately, I got the biggest piece.

P: You got the biggest piece?

V: Well, it's bigger than yours. 

P: I think we actually started getting skillful around issue seven. I'm pretty happy with everything we've done from that issue on. That's when we really started to change...

B: In what ways?

V: Better desktop publishing, for one. We also started to get a lot more submissions, as opposed to the three of us writing it ourselves.

P: Right around issue seven a lot of stuff picked up. We started getting a lot more trades, a lot more mail orders, a Factsheet 5 write up (a 'zine that reviews other 'zines), more people wrote in... well, a lot 

more people wrote things we could print, instead of just drunken babble-type stuff.

B: So you're up to what issue right now?

P: We just put out number eleven, and number seven was our year anniversary. Number 12 will be out October 2. We usually put it out on whatever Monday / Tuesday is closest to the beginning of the month.

B: What's the difference in the content that made you start liking the 'zine?

V: Well, we always liked it...

P: I think, for one, we're better writers. I think we've had more practice at it. We're also a little bit more honest... we're not biting our lips so much and holding back.

V: We've gotten a lot more snotty and cocky. The arrogance of having more than ten issues out is left us with swollen heads.

B: You're definitely one of the few local 'zines that comes out regularly...

P: Yeah, we're really crazy about that.

V: Hey, did you know I just bought a cup of coffee for under a dollar? Imagine that, a cup of coffee in downtown Burlington for under a dollar. You can't get that at McDonald's.

B: Can we plug that? Where was it?

V: At the Red Onion, folks. Under a dollar, it can be done.

B: At one point you indicated a compilation tape with the 'zine... Is that the only one you've done?

P: Yeah, I don't know if we're going to do another one. Maybe, Maybe not.

V: It did indeed sell issues though. People saw a tape in the bag and...

P: I almost think it's just incidental what's on the tape. You could put anything on there, and people are more likely to buy the thing.

B: Which single issue was your favorite, and why?

P: Argh... back issues. I want to burn most of them, but at the same time, they were a learning experience, so they're valid. I can't look at the first two or three at all. They put me to shame. People taunt me with them.

V: I like the year anniversary, mostly because it was fat... it had girth.

B: How 'bout a favorite individual article?

V: I really like Pimp's "Green Mountain Effect" article. That was beautiful... 

P: I liked " Attack of the 50 foot 'Zine Grudge", which Factsheet 5 is going to reprint, actually.

B: Really? When? 

P: I dunno... they ask permission, and I gave it, so maybe the next one...

V: I also likes the essay I wrote a couple weeks ago...

P: Yeah, it's called "The Natural Beauty of Violence"... It'll be in the next issue.

B: Let's talk about the publishing name, Purging Talon, that Poo-Poo is part of...

P: That's Matt Paradise's thing... He just allows us to write stuff. We're actually on the board of directors... so we can speak on his behalf. In addition to Poo-Poo, Purging Talon puts out Not Like Most. That's the satanic 'zine that Matt does. The first issue is out and the second might be out in January. There's also Slambook.. 

V: That's my baby. It's reminiscent of those little slambooks you'd see kids passing around at school or summer camp. Basically just lots of questions for people to answer like, "what's your favorite color?" or "who's the cutest?"... I've taken that and twisted it a bit. I did Issue one just for the hell of it, sitting in a bar. After a year of it sitting on Paradise's desk, I finally put it out. I'm working on the second one and the response has almost doubled. I've got a whole bunch of questionnaires out there, a whole lot of local people as well as some subscribers and people on the internet, so it should have responses from all around the world... It's going to be diverse, at least. We're also trying to work on Registerhead. 

P: Yeah, that's coming really slow. It's a cashier work 'zine. It's picking up a little bit... A few people have sent stuff in. I'm begging the people who are reading this right now to send those cashier stories in...

B: I've done the cashier thing. I'm still doing the cashier thing, actually.

P: God, I've been a cashier, landscaper, welder...

Y: 'Til he welded his heart to his head...

P: Yeah, then it was 'buh-bye.' That story was in one of the early Editor's Life columns in Poo-Poo. The next column should be good.. It's about girls. 

V: Wait a minute, I thought you didn't like girls...

P: I keep going back and forth between liking 'em and not liking 'em. It's a mood thing. 

B: What other national 'zines do you guys like?

P: Ben is Dead, definitely. I think Darby does a kick-asd job on that 'zine. It's good too because there aren't a hell of a lot of female edittrixes out there. Most of the ones I get that are done by females are just, like, teeny bopper "I love Hole, I love Nirvana," and I know they can be better. And Darby does it right. I also like a scene called Murder Can be Fun. It's a serial-killer 'zine. I like Answer Me too and Todd (Kennedy of the 'zine Durchsehen) will laugh at this point.

B:  Someone once took a copy of Answer ?Me off the shelves at Tones, ripped it, put it back in the bag, and put it back on the racks...

V: (Sadly) Gee, no one's ever done that to Poo-Poo...

P: Just you wait...

B: Is that what you're aiming for?

V: We do try...

P: I sync with each issue we reach a point where we think less and less about more and more people. I'll write something, and I'll stop myself, but then I think, why am I stopping? It's that social mechanism thing that kicks in and says something is inappropriate. I'm trying to beat that mechanism into submission.

Look for the next Poo-Poo on local shelves October 2, 1995. Write 'em (and send your cashier stories!) at box 8131, Burlington, VT 05402, or email 'em at 74627.10:20@ compuserve.com. Next issue will focus on Mr. Todd Kennedy, the dork behind Durchsehen. 

Brad Searles works at Tones, an indie record store on Church Street, plays drums, and tries to run Club records. He actually got this article in on time, once again. Send your Vermont-made 'zine to him c/o Good Citizen or stop by Tones to annoy him.