A Belated Thank You
For a 41-year-old mimeographed 'zine' from a favorite band
A short piece today, but a story worth telling.
Sometimes, when you least expect it, you’re reminded there are still kind people in this world.
I photograph a number of conferences each year, and many of my clients are recurring, which is nice because you get to know the staff over time.
At one organization’s conference a couple of years ago, I started talking about music with Nelson, a guy around my age who is a big punk fan. Formerly based in Los Angeles, Nelson is more of a late 1980s era hardcore follower than I am, but he is deeply knowledgeable about the entire scene.
During brief breaks while shooting that first conference, Nelson and I started talking about bands and our inspirations. I shared my love for Elvis, the blues and the all-encompassing Americana. Not his favorites, but he appreciated my enthusiasm.
We found more common ground when the conversation veered into X, Los Lobos, The Blasters, and other West Coast groups from that early 1980s era that continue to influence my music choices to this day.
I’ve shot photos at this conference for three years now. Right before the second, I had photographed X at the 9:30 Club in D.C. and had just interviewed John Doe. Nelson was impressed, and told me about a lyric sheet — a zine — he had gotten years before.
“I’ll dig that out sometime and send you a picture,” he said.
This past fall, we talked again about the group, which had just released “Smoke and Fiction.” The album, released 47 years after the band first got together, likely will be the last by the original four members. (Spoiler alert: If it’s the last X album, they are going out on a high.)
“I’m gonna send you something,” Nelson said at the end of the conference, asking for the address to my co-working space. We went our separate ways, promising to link up at a future meeting or when I’m in Las Vegas to shoot another conference this summer.
Several weeks passed. I got sick and was out for a time. Then one recent day, a small package arrived on my desk with Nelson’s return address on it. Inside, in a plastic sleeve similar to one used for the comic books that he loves, was a handmade 41-year-old “zine” in pristine condition.
The X “Song Book,” a collage of images and words, features the lyrics to the tracks on 1983’s “More Fun in the New World.” According to Nelson, the zine was handed out at shows during that time.
Nelson told me he thought it should be in the hands of someone who would appreciate it. And I do.
More than that, I appreciate his generosity of spirit. We need that now more than ever.
That's fantastic. And it's nice to know that the love we put into the world sometimes comes back to us.
Sometimes, (just sometimes), people are wonderful. Lucky you!