The first issue came out October 1, 1990.
I started production just two months earlier on August 1.
Click here to view the full issue.
COVER
I have no recollection who that is, where I got that, or why I chose it! I seem to recall that I liked the image because it conjured up the feeling and attitude that I was after with the magazine. And it was a woman in a male-dominated world. And it was a non-sequitur: obviously not showing a live performance nor any particular band! I like non-sequiturs. Turns out she’s someone from 1930s decadent Berlin.
My first interview ever was with the seminal garage punk band, Dead Moon, a longtime Portland and beyond institution – and friends of my then-boyfriend, Dave. To my 24-year-old self, they were old (in their late 30s & early 40s, gasp! My late-50s-self laughs at this younger me!). I didn’t know their music (still don’t) but Fred & Toody were THE NICEST PEOPLE EVER! I felt instantly comfortable with them. I lucked out for a first interview. It’s still an interesting read.
While rummaging through old RATW paperwork, I found this letter from Groningen, Netherlands, dated October 10, 1990:
Hello, Rock around the World,
I was very surprised when I saw this new magazine (someone took it somewhere in New York), and I was even more surprised when I saw my photos of Dead Moon in your magazine!
But I don’t see my name mentioned anywhere.
Be so nice to do that the next time when my pictures are used. Thank you!
Lots of success with your magazine!
Bye
Willem Kolvoort
Such a nice letter! I happily gave Willem photo credit in the November issue. Thank you, Willem! You provided other photos and some writing for me in subsequent issues. (Looks like you still do photography. Very cool!)
Click here to read interview.
LISTINGS
I got a lot of listings the first time around!
I love seeing some of my favorite bands and artists as well as others whom I liked a lot, such as:
There’s a sampling of my music tastes from back then in a nutshell!
Of the other 72 bands listed, I didn’t know them very well but was glad they were there. I just wanted to support the underdog!
Recently, a friend of mine was looking at this first issue, pouring through the listings, looking for bands she knew from back in the day. She was surprised to find that she hadn’t heard of 90% of the bands! Just goes to show how many bands are out there at any given time trying to succeed, and how few of those bands get to the next level of popularity. And how an even smaller amount actually make it, with only a teeny tiny percentage getting to the top – and then lasting for decades beyond that. That’s a lot of hard work on everyone’s part. Such is the love of music, I suppose.
I got a lot of listings the first time around!
I love seeing some of my favorite bands and artists as well as others whom I liked a lot, such as:
- Billy Bragg
- Crazy 8s
- Devo
- Fugazi
- Galaxie 500
- Robyn Hitchcock
- Screaming Trees
- Sonic Youth
- They Might Be Giants
- The Untouchables
- Suzanne Vega
There’s a sampling of my music tastes from back then in a nutshell!
Of the other 72 bands listed, I didn’t know them very well but was glad they were there. I just wanted to support the underdog!
Recently, a friend of mine was looking at this first issue, pouring through the listings, looking for bands she knew from back in the day. She was surprised to find that she hadn’t heard of 90% of the bands! Just goes to show how many bands are out there at any given time trying to succeed, and how few of those bands get to the next level of popularity. And how an even smaller amount actually make it, with only a teeny tiny percentage getting to the top – and then lasting for decades beyond that. That’s a lot of hard work on everyone’s part. Such is the love of music, I suppose.
Click here to see listings.
ADVERTISING
I made so many phone calls to hit up folks for advertising. My first long-distance phone bill was a ridiculous $315! Per one online source, that’s the equivalent of $740 in 2024 money, jeez! (Yes, I still have my little ledger, showing all my income and expenses. So organized was I!) How lucky we all are these days where we pay virtually nothing for long-distance calls. But long distance was such a THING back then!
My timing for starting a magazine kinda sucked. On August 1, 1990, I was all ready to start contacting advertisers. On August 2nd, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait over oil production (and other reasons) and we plunged into a major worldwide recession shortly thereafter. Labels that would not have hesitated to support a cool, new zine with cheap ad rates were pulling back on advertising completely. I got that response from so many labels.
I made so many phone calls to hit up folks for advertising. My first long-distance phone bill was a ridiculous $315! Per one online source, that’s the equivalent of $740 in 2024 money, jeez! (Yes, I still have my little ledger, showing all my income and expenses. So organized was I!) How lucky we all are these days where we pay virtually nothing for long-distance calls. But long distance was such a THING back then!
My timing for starting a magazine kinda sucked. On August 1, 1990, I was all ready to start contacting advertisers. On August 2nd, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait over oil production (and other reasons) and we plunged into a major worldwide recession shortly thereafter. Labels that would not have hesitated to support a cool, new zine with cheap ad rates were pulling back on advertising completely. I got that response from so many labels.
Despite this unfortunate economic timing, I was able to secure some supporters. I seem to recall I offered advertising at 50% the usual rate for the first issue. I thank all the advertisers who took a chance on my little zine, especially the first issue.
At least one of the ads was sourced from Dave’s connections. He was good friends with members of the local band, The Dharma Bums, who put me in touch with their label, Frontier Records. My contact there, Lisa Fancher, was so nice! The Dharma Bums were thrilled to have a full-page ad on the back cover
[Name dropping time: the lead singer, Jeremy (who had the most gorgeous long curly hair, back then) was dating Fiona who worked at 2nd Avenue Records and who had gone to elementary school with me down in CA, though she was a couple years older. Their drummer, John, who went on to become the drummer for the Decemberists, was dating Rebecca who would go on to form The Spinanes. Dave had cool parties at his house where all Bums and their partners would descend!]
I am so grateful to the folks who wrote for the first Live Reviews section: Dave’s acquaintances Brandan, David, and John; my friend, Brendan. Thank you, all!
John Hiatt, Chumbawunga, Derelicts, Dwarves; Public Enemy; Michelle Shocked; Beat Happening; and The Melvins. That’s a good overview of the alternative spectrum!
Public Enemy was not really of the genre – hip hop is its own category – but it was freaking Public Enemy! I didn’t know them well – my closest friends were huge fans – but I bow down to them and their importance.
Oh, look, there’s my Beat Happening review! I still remember that summer night, on the empty 4th floor of an office building downtown. Very strange location but kind of apt. That was my second time seeing them. My first was a year prior when they opened for Fugazi, except Fugazi never made it because their van broke down on the way up to Portland from San Francisco.
I connected with Calvin that night (He’s one third of Beat Happening and the owner of K records) about possible advertising. He turned out to be the hugest supporter and a regular advertiser. And he was one of the nicest guys in the industry.
LETTERS & POSTCARDS
“I just happened upon an issue of Rock Around the World (at Newbury Comics), and think it is a fine publication. Great idea!” – William E., Boston, MA
“Dear RATW, Really enjoyed your first issue – wish you the best in the future. The response at our store has already been universally positive – tremendous concept.” – Andy at Albums on the Hill, Boulder, CO
“It’s about time someone did a ‘real’ Pollstar-type publication for us alternative swine.” –Lisa of Lone Wolf Records in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
MEMORY
One of the great perks of running a music magazine, I would soon discover, was free CDs! Labels would send me free CDs, even though I wasn’t reviewing recorded music, only live music. I didn’t dissuade them!
Up until that point, I had not made the transition to CDs. I was still a devout vinyl fan. CDs started appearing around 1982. When I worked at Rainbow Records in Palo Alto in 1984-85, we had a small CD section, mostly Windham Hill recordings. Few people bought CDs for a long time.
I think my resistance was twofold. The quality of the sound on a CD just isn’t the same as the fullness of a vinyl recording. Second, I was fundamentally irritated that record labels were charging double for CDs when they cost half the price of vinyl records to produce. Such greed!
But then I got my first CD – for free! It was Jane’s Addiction, “Ritual de lo Habitual”. Besides being a great album, I discovered it was so much more convenient to play a CD than a record! And the sound was good enough!
Oh, well, so much for principles.
I liked this perk of being a magazine publisher!
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