public marks

PUBLIC MARKS from dfracheb with tags label & rock

09 September 2006 15:00

troubleman unlimited

Troubleman Unlimited started as an offshoot (of sorts) to the often-misunderstood "Wanna Communicate?" fanzine. One cannot understand Troubleman Unlimited without first receiving a brief history lesson on the origins of "Wanna Communicate?". The fanzine was the brainchild of myself and Tom Curren, a fellow hardcore kid and student at St. Peter's College in Jersey City, NJ. The name "Wanna Communicate?" came from a poster I received for Christmas from my aunt. The poster depicts a monkey hanging from a branch by one hand, about to slip and fall to an untimely demise. Underneath the photo was the caption "Wanna Communicate?" This was an extremely clever take on the famous "Hang In There" posters of the day. I hung it on my wall in my room out of loyalty to my family (it's an Italian thing) next to the Black Flag Pettibone poster that came with the "The First Four Years" double LP set. The first issue was printed in an edition of 100 copies, and included the original demo tape of the upstart hardcore band Merel. John, the guitarist, paid for the production of the demo and we simply stuck it in with the fanzine. It sold out relatively quick which was a suprise to say the least, considering how much of a travesty it was. By the time the next issue came out, I had transferred to Jersey City State College (movin' on up!) and had fallen out of touch with Tom. I decided to continue the legacy. After all was said and done, "Wanna Communicate?" published 5.6 issues, and interviewed some pretty rad bands/people: Jawbreaker, Rocket From The Crypt, Rodan, Jawbox, Drive Like Jehu, Left Insane, Nation Of Ulysses, Chisel, famous roadies, Rorschach, Simple Machines Records, Shudder To Think, ABCNORIO, etc...As a matter of fact, I heard some of these notorious interviews have been bootlegged and reprinted in other zines (NOU and Jehu). Troubleman #000.5 (Superpowers Tape Compilation) was released with issue #4 of "Wanna Communicate?" Thus, the label was born. The name TROUBLEMAN UNLIMITED came from the popular film/book/soundtrack TROUBLEMAN, and the word UNLIMITED was tagged on the end because we wanted to have an unlimited scope of coverage, something I feel the label has actually stayed true to this day. The logo was borrowed from the Miles Davis "On the Corner" LP. Simply track down the original pressing of the record and open the gatefold. She is staring you in the face. It's that simple, kids.