Eventide #6 US$2.00 CONTACT: Contact info: Eventide PO Box 2641 New York, NY 10009 E-Mail: Toby@yourbestguess.com http://www.yourbestguess.com Eventide is available at Insound.

For my money, there are ultimately two kinds of zines: the slick, gorgeously-designed variety and the down-to-business newsprint sort. Neither is superior; flashy design often hides a lack of content or quality, while newsprint paper zines can be packed with DIY content that you love -- but you'd better love it, 'cos it's going to be all over your hands after a few minutes of reading.

Before you tell me how wrong I am, I should point out that I consider this division to be primarily aesthetic. What's truly important to me is that a zine's editors make an effort to prove that they give a shit about their publication. Articles should be carefully chosen and well-written. If a zine is topical (regional, genre-based, whatever), it should take a broad-based, carefully considered approach to its topic; if it's a general zine, diversity is the watchword. Though I'm an admitted spelling, grammar and usage nazi, I won't get too upset about these things if a zine has enough compelling content to justify its existence (though it never hurts to try to proofread...).

So to come back to my "two types of zines" comment... It's a distinction I make because I feel far more comfortable with newsprint zines than their slick'n'flashy brethren. Chalk it up to some annoying, instinctive, hindbrain-driven competitive urge; when I'm reading a zine, I like to be able to think "I could do this!" Call it an urge to identify with the writers, or call it creativity stymied by the need to sleep at least four hours a night, but there it is. Now, print background be damned -- I'm not sure I could turn out one of those cushy mags; you've all seen the extent of my graphic design skills. But a carefully designed, well-written, thoughtful newsprint zine will win my heart every time.

All of which is a very roundabout way of getting to Eventide #6.

I have endless respect for Toby Carroll, Scott Shields and the rest of the Eventide crew. If you've never seen it before, understand that it's one thick mother of a magazine -- especially this issue, which has been a long time coming. They didn't number the pages, and I'm not going to count them, but it's long. And full. That's a lot of work. I mean, hell, Carroll and Daphne Carr pretty much tag team their way through a couple of dozen band interviews with only occasional relief from other writers (although there are occasional indications, such as the less-than-spanking-new content of some of the ads, or a future-tense reference to Kindercore's Christmas Too compilation in the Ted Leo interview, that suggest they've had a while to get this stuff done).

More on the interviews later. Eventide opens with columns from all of the writers. These are all well written, if not necessarily overwhelmingly consequential. Whatever your opinion on the writers' thoughts, the columns are a nice way to connect with the people behind the words; if you read the zine in strict linear order, you'll see inside the head of each of the writers prior to reading his/her other, less personal articles and reviews. If nothing else, it gives new readers a better idea of whose opinions are closest to their own. The columnar (go figure) layout of these columns is a bit disconcerting, though, with writers' names occasionally appearing at the bottom of a column and the pertinent article beginning at the top of the following column. I've done an abysmal job of describing this, haven't I?

Speaking of those reviews... Eventide is known for publishing LOADS of them. There are well over 500 in this issue, by my count. Most of the reviews run under 100 words, but the Eventide staff make the most of that length; even at their most dismissive, the reviews are generally pretty descriptive, though a C or better grade in Indie Rock Styles 101 and Hardcore 100 is a prerequisite to proper understanding. Eventide makes an effort to review just about everything they get -- which in the NY/NJ area must be a hell of a lot, with a higher than average proportion of really, profoundly mediocre music thrown in. You can tell that some of the more overworked reviewers -- Toby Carroll, not surprisingly, among them -- are getting pretty burned out on certain sounds. His shorter reviews display an increasing impatience with mediocrity. Lukasz Janik, on the other hand, displays a range of harder-edged tastes that's not usually seen in indie zines. His reviews can be a little blunt, but he's not afraid to dislike stuff.

There's easily a year's worth of stuff covered here, if not more.

Now, on to those interviews. There's a good mixture. Edith Frost, Isis' Aaron Turner, Euphone, Looper, Kathleen Hanna, Silver Scooter, American Analog Set... get the picture yet? A nice slice down the middle of indie rock, with lots of cool rings and striations to look at. J. Robbins is interviewed here, too (which screams "Summer of '99").

It looks like there's a mixture of in-person, phone and possibly e-mail interviews here. The interviews all flow reasonably well; while we occasionally run into the less-than-flowing Q&A narrative that indicates an e-mail conversation, even these articles are structured quite well, with carefully considered questions. Carroll in particular reveals himself to be a strong conversational interviewer, actually chatting with the artists he interviews rather than simply waiting for them to stop talking so he can ask the next question on his list. Similarly, Carr's interview with American Analog Set's Andrew Kenny makes a good read, as the pair establish a solid rapport. I gather the unedited interview is much longer and more self-referential, but I'd like to read it.

Equally worthy of your notice is the magazine's longest article, a three way conversation between an Eventide writer, Rainer Maria's Caithlin DeMarrais and ex-Souvenir Tracy Wilson. It's always interesting to eavesdrop on a conversation between a couple of musicians who don't know each other too well, but have a fair amount in common. Not an interview as such (Eventide's unbilled writer merely facilitates), this article actually gets into far more interesting territory -- you get to know Tracy and Caithlin as individuals.

I can rarely give anything but a positive review to the zines I cover here; they've all got attributes that make it impossible not to enjoy them. Eventide #6 is no exception -- a solid, satisfying zine that, regrettably, will rapidly turn your hands black with its easily-transferred ink. But even this has its upside: if one of your friends steals your copy of the zine, you need merely inspect their property for telltale black fingerprints to find the culprit.

Though this, the year's first Eventide, marks a late start, Carroll and Shields promise two more issues before year's end. I, for one, hope they meet their goal -- that'll be some good reading. I just hope they find some time to rest, too.

Reviewed by George Zahora