There once was a time when fanzines were truly works of art, strips of typed (on a typewriter) text and assorted photos (mostly torn from magazines, posters, or flyers) glued on randomly selected pieces of paper, then surreptitiously copied at someone's place of work under cover of darkness. That's how the first half-dozen zines I worked on were done, and a few that I've been a part of later in life... [gratuitous self-promotion has been self-edited]. Well, as old as that makes me (ahem), I wasn't even aware of the existence of `Touch And Go' during its magnificent run from 1979 through 1983, but I have been influenced by it--we all have--without even realizing so. Every zine of the past 30 years owes something to `Touch And Go', which is clearly evident by flipping through this magnificent, massive book. From the thick stock cover featuring a glowering John Brannon (Negative Approach) to the collection of show flyers in the back (Necros, The Fix, Minor Threat, Scream, Black Flag, and of course Tesco Vee's Meatmen), this book demands attention. This is 576 pages of madness, with full reproductions of every single page of the zine's 22-issue run, plus all-new essays written by Henry Rollins, Keith Morris, Corey Rusk, John Brannon, Byron Coley, both authors, and more... plus a `remember the days' interview between Tesco and Ian MacKaye... that bring the early days of the US punk/hardcore scenes to life like nothing else could. Since the authors were isolated in the US Midwest--in the days before internet, cable TV, satellite radio, cell phones, and whatever else we have today that makes everything old news before it is even new news--their shared perspectives on the music and culture of the times are fascinating and all-too identifiable for those of us who remember what it was like to be forced into seeking out and discovering such things as opposed to having instant access to everything at all times like we do today. My favorite moments include: the authors first experiencing Austin's then-burgeoning punk scene via the Stains (who became MDC a few months after their debut 7" hit the streets), Big Boys, and Dicks... because they hated these bands, didn't know what to think, but as the issues go by, all 3 hit town for shows and then they `got it' and understood these bands' greatness; the early and continuous love for Minor Threat and all things DC; the early Black Flag coverage, wherein the authors openly worship this seminal band and express concern about how often they were changing singers--and how they weren't sure about Henry joining up simply because they were so into his then-current band, State Of Alert; fantastic coverage of 7 Seconds and the Reno (Skeeno!) scene as it developed; JFA, JFA, JFA!!!; a fantastic letter from one `Ugly Norbie' of Green Bay, Wisconsin (if you don't get this, you are definitely way too young or way too hopeless, if not both, but you've got the interwebs so use them to figure it out); their open love for the burgeoning new wave and new romantic scenes happening in England, experienced through hard-to-get import 7" vinyl records from The Cure, Modern English, and loads of other bands that really were making amazing and important music that `punks' today would never be exposed to properly; and a brilliant early show of love for the man, the myth, the legend that is George Tabb on page 479. This book is so good it'll make you cry.
