Garage #2

As part of Flying Nun’s 30th Anniversary we are digitally re-releasing the six issues of the the music fanzine ‘Garage’ over the rest of the year, and we are happy to present issue 2 this month along with a podcast (at the bottom of the page) put together by editor Richard Langston.

 DOWNLOAD THE PDF VERSION OF GARAGE #2 HERE

Garage #2 is the hardest to find and physically a little odd as well. Printed in a strangely shaped format that does not conform well to fitting in with other printed matter or being kept. And times must have been tough as much of it is typed by various contributors on the very same typewriter. A typewriter with a very worn out inkless ribbon which made the printed original difficult to read.

It does sport a great cover with a hand written lowercase uphill “garage” that somehow emphasises both “garage” and “rage” atop an image of a blurry dark hand playing a left handed guitar. It’s all askew and delightfully unsettling.

But it was in the nature of fanzines to do such things. Garage 2 has a short piece about fanzines and a so true quote the late Greg Shaw from Bomp!;

“The fanzine is usually the product of one person, publishing at his own expense, and in his own home, for little of no reward above the pleasure of self-expression and writing about something he loves…read by people with the same interests.”

In many ways the blog is todays fanzine, but on an instant single topic, with colourful graphics and a nice layout replacing the physical collection with the once necessary roughness that was required in the reproduction process.

And while Garage #2 was originally hard to read it is less so here. Check out the cover stories: Sneaky Feelings (where it is noted that “Martin tells the history of the band like he should write a book about it” which is what Matthew Bannister does do many years later), The Puddle (read about the bands early development) and The Orange (and Andrew Broughs pre Straitjacket Fits experience).

And there are other good bits too. A rundown on how Dunedin’s Radio One was getting organised in 1985 is timely. Bands mentioned in the live reviews include The Chills and the Doublehappys. And overseas comes to New Zealand shores and Garages awareness in the form of Low Reed and the Go Betweens. I like the run down of upcoming releases including a Flying Nun compilation called “Bison”. Thank goodness common sense prevailed (probably in the form of Hamish Kilgour) and it was called Tuatara instead.

- Roger Shepherd

DOWNLOAD OR VIEW GARAGE #2 PDF HERE.
CLICK HERE FOR A DIGITAL COPY OF ISSUE #1

GARAGE #2 PODCAST 

TRACKLISTING:
1. The Great Unwashed – What U Should Be Now (D. Kilgour, 1983)
2. The Verlaines – Death and The Maiden (G. Downes, 1982)
3. Bilderine – Retail Trade (B. Direen, 1984)
4. The Chills – Rolling Moon (M. Phillipps, 1982)
5. Bored Games- Joe 90 (S. Carter, 1982)
6. The Orange – No Reason To Hide (A. Brough, 1986)
7. Sneaky Feelings – Waiting For Touchdown (D. Pine, 1983)
8. The Rip – De Reszke & Dylan (A. Galbraith, 1984)
9. The Puddle – Magic Words (G. Henderson, 1986)
10. The Bats – Claudine (R. Scott/The Bats, 1985).

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