BLOGGER: rogerSIMIAN
LOCATION: scottish borders
BAND: the stark palace
LABEL: shark batter records
In the mid-1990s, many of the good folks now associated with Shark Batter Records ran a glorified local fanzine, Sun Zoom Spark, that dun good and ended up becoming a full colour monthly distributed throughout the U.K. Sun Zoom Spark, named after a Captain Beefheart song, was based in the Scottish Borders town of Galashiels.
Distinctive design and band caricatures came from the 6 ft 5 bearded behemoth Grant Pringle, original drummer with Dawn Of The Replicants, who is now collaborating with myself and Cameron Jack in The Stark Palace.
My brother Mike Small and school friend Brendan McAndrew - the song-writing partnership behind The Stone Ghost Collective - were the publisher and editor, respectively.
Charles S. Bravo - currently frontman of Vacuum Spasm Babies - was the music editor and it was generally him who set up interviews for us: everyone from punk rock old-timers (eg The Ramones, Jonathan Richman) to the up 'n' coming Brit Pop whippersnappers (Blur, Radiohead, Pulp, Elastica, Supergrass, Manics, Echobelly, Oasis, Sleeper etc), various noisier American acts, who I usually much preferred to the Brits (Beck, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Mercury Rev), pop stars (Coolio, Erasure, Rolf Harris) and a gaggle of riot grrrl influenced female-fronted bands.
In the early '90s, my brother met Tom Baker lookalike and natural born Dadaist, Paul Vickers, at college in Carlisle. A few years later, he persuaded Paul to ditch the experimental music degree he was studying in Nottingham and move into our parents' converted church house so he could draw his Flag Woman cartoons and pen articles about the bands he liked. Which is basically how he ended up writing songs with Crunchy Joseph (a Borders three-piece featuring me, Mike and Grant Pringle: Sonic Youth guitar tunings and three-part vocal harmonies if you can imagine such a thing), and later fronting Dawn Of The Replicants, Pluto Monkey and Paul Vickers and the Leg, pretty much becoming an honorary Scotsman in the process.
The early team also included: Hector Prole and Dermot hACK ( long-time inhabitants of Amsterdam since SZS folded), Grant Kirk and Andy Foggin (now both teachers) and Hawick lass Vicky Davidson, who's had a healthy career in Scottish journalism and is now deputy editor of The Big Issue (in Scotland).
Well, after many years, we've finally built a website where we can archive some of the old material.
Here's a sampler of the first national issue (from Jan '94):
* SUN ZOOM SPARK issue 1 *
And a taster of the two early local zine versions of SZS (92 & 93):
* SUN ZOOM SPARK local zine *
"Pop Up Jesus" by Paul Vickers
Courtney Love by Charles S. Bravo
I've also uploaded two new galleries of photography to the Sparks From The Mothership by Paul Vickers ("Church of the Curious" in which he explores his unhealthy obsession with religious iconography and trashy culture) and Charles S. Bravo (rock & pop snaps including:: Courtney Love, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Beck, Thom Yorke, Joey Ramone, Bjork and Richie Manic):
* GALLERIES *
Hope you enjoy. I'll try and upload an issue's worth every month or two...
rS
x
LOCATION: scottish borders
BAND: the stark palace
LABEL: shark batter records
In the mid-1990s, many of the good folks now associated with Shark Batter Records ran a glorified local fanzine, Sun Zoom Spark, that dun good and ended up becoming a full colour monthly distributed throughout the U.K. Sun Zoom Spark, named after a Captain Beefheart song, was based in the Scottish Borders town of Galashiels.
Distinctive design and band caricatures came from the 6 ft 5 bearded behemoth Grant Pringle, original drummer with Dawn Of The Replicants, who is now collaborating with myself and Cameron Jack in The Stark Palace.
My brother Mike Small and school friend Brendan McAndrew - the song-writing partnership behind The Stone Ghost Collective - were the publisher and editor, respectively.
Charles S. Bravo - currently frontman of Vacuum Spasm Babies - was the music editor and it was generally him who set up interviews for us: everyone from punk rock old-timers (eg The Ramones, Jonathan Richman) to the up 'n' coming Brit Pop whippersnappers (Blur, Radiohead, Pulp, Elastica, Supergrass, Manics, Echobelly, Oasis, Sleeper etc), various noisier American acts, who I usually much preferred to the Brits (Beck, Sonic Youth, Pavement, Mercury Rev), pop stars (Coolio, Erasure, Rolf Harris) and a gaggle of riot grrrl influenced female-fronted bands.
In the early '90s, my brother met Tom Baker lookalike and natural born Dadaist, Paul Vickers, at college in Carlisle. A few years later, he persuaded Paul to ditch the experimental music degree he was studying in Nottingham and move into our parents' converted church house so he could draw his Flag Woman cartoons and pen articles about the bands he liked. Which is basically how he ended up writing songs with Crunchy Joseph (a Borders three-piece featuring me, Mike and Grant Pringle: Sonic Youth guitar tunings and three-part vocal harmonies if you can imagine such a thing), and later fronting Dawn Of The Replicants, Pluto Monkey and Paul Vickers and the Leg, pretty much becoming an honorary Scotsman in the process.
The early team also included: Hector Prole and Dermot hACK ( long-time inhabitants of Amsterdam since SZS folded), Grant Kirk and Andy Foggin (now both teachers) and Hawick lass Vicky Davidson, who's had a healthy career in Scottish journalism and is now deputy editor of The Big Issue (in Scotland).
Well, after many years, we've finally built a website where we can archive some of the old material.
Here's a sampler of the first national issue (from Jan '94):
* SUN ZOOM SPARK issue 1 *
And a taster of the two early local zine versions of SZS (92 & 93):
* SUN ZOOM SPARK local zine *
"Pop Up Jesus" by Paul Vickers
Courtney Love by Charles S. Bravo
I've also uploaded two new galleries of photography to the Sparks From The Mothership by Paul Vickers ("Church of the Curious" in which he explores his unhealthy obsession with religious iconography and trashy culture) and Charles S. Bravo (rock & pop snaps including:: Courtney Love, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Kylie Minogue, Nick Cave, Beck, Thom Yorke, Joey Ramone, Bjork and Richie Manic):
* GALLERIES *
Hope you enjoy. I'll try and upload an issue's worth every month or two...
rS
x
