Issue One
Issue 1. Summer of 1997
Stewart, determined to create a print successor to his email zine Cyber-TURD, recruited high school classmate Bill in the spring of 1997 to work on then cut-and-paste Tweed Magazine.
The main focus of that spring was to start up the surf-rock band
William Wallace and the Bravehearts using Stewart’s step-grandmother’s temporarily empty house as a practice space. During practice breaks Stewart and Bill frequently discussed social and political issues.
William Wallace and the Bravehearts dissolved before it even started, leaving plenty of time and brain-space for
Tweed. The two friends spent a few weeks collecting ideas and one all-nighter at Bill’s grandparent’s inhaling rubber cement as
Issue One manifested itself.
Fairfield’s teen center,
The Beanery, quickly became the main venue for
Tweed when it reopened that autumn. Many Friday nights were spent absorbing local punk music and hassling fellow patrons for
Tweed’s initial cover price of $2.00. This didn’t sit well with those who felt all zines should be distributed free of charge. I guess they hadn’t heard of
The Baffler. Better put, they hadn’t heard of two kids with empty pockets running amuck in one of the wealthiest counties in America.
Early influences included other local zinesters. Patrick Burritt’s
Zero. Conrad Darnoc’s
Mary. Matt Tubin’s
No FUture [sic]. Local bands like
Stiff Kitten,
Lansky’s Decision,
Muppet Snuff,
Squat Thrust,
Inward Variation, and
Zero Chance set a backdrop of music friends and foes. That was Fairfield
CT as experienced by two high school sophomores in 1997.
Issue Contents- Ghost of the Issue
- Hacking Software
- Interesting Facts
- Reel Big Fish’s “Everything Sucks”
- Summer Movies
- Stuff
- God Squad
- If Only (Verse)
- More Stuff
- How to Make $3 from $2
- Upcoming Stuff
- Credits
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