A big chunk of what made all the home made music of the 80's and 90's stick together, along with college radio stations, was all the cool Indie 'Zines that people were also making. You could send a tape, they might write a review, and you might make a new friend or two. It was a slow process, and all pre-computer, so it wasn't as easy as you might think.
I'm slowly being able to piece some things back together in my mind, and I'm pretty sure this is what happened here. I sent a copy of our first tape to scores of magazines, trying to see if anybody would like this stuff! One of those 'Zines was called "Dark Chaos," and was created by Ed Stastny in Omaha, Nebraska, and Ed wrote that "Listening to this is akin to having a high fever, slipping in and out of consciousness while listening to some rock-n-roll station that played nothing except 70's music."
"...as if an industrial noise band raided a depressed blues/jazz bar and no one was sober enough to say anything about it."
Like it or not, somehow our music at least made people think!
The guy who did the cover art and more for "Dark Chaos" was named Joe E. Sheets, and he had his own self-published 'Zine called "Shock Therapy" that showcased his amazing artistic talent!
I haven't been in contact with Joe for decades, but I did find this
Renderosity website where you could probably buy some of his fantastic artwork if you'd like!
In one issue of "Shock Therapy" that Joe sent me, he drew an original portrait of Hermanos Guzanos! That's when I knew we had hit the big time!
Joe E. Sheets artwork is astounding, marvelous, phenomenal, stupendous, and cool!
"Sometimes the pictures draw themselves." - Joe E.
