What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Okay, so it's been awhile, but things are crazy. And by things, I mean me. I'm nuts. But if you're reading this, that's probably why. I can only guess.

So June went by stupidly fast because I went on an excursion to Minnesota. You want proof?



There it is.

I didn't expect to enjoy being back as much as I did, but it was amazing. It's always weird little things that you miss. Like your siblings.

While I was there, I went down to Infinity and got a new tattoo. I went with M and she got another one, too, and yes, I did say "another". M has loads of tattoos and she looks great, and the guys at Infinity always do an awesome job. Plus, they've got a candy machine full of chewy Spree. What more could you ask for?

Anyway, it was good being back, and it got me thinking about how little I've actually changed since high school. I have a couple of degrees now, and the Punk is pretty awesome, but everything about me is still pretty much the same. Same politics, same accent, same magazine, better record collection. People say you change as you get older, but they're wrong. If you change too much, you're not doing it right.

I always thought it would be awesome be publish The Antagonist forever, but I didn't think it would actually happen. I know ten years isn't all that long, but it's not bad, and the magazine's longevity has been the greatest surprise ever. I put it down to being stubborn, foolhardy, and irritated enough with the world that I have to constantly make fun of it.

Sure, things have changed over the years -- it's more about the music now, for one thing -- but I think it's better than ever. Issue 6 is going to be a weird one. It's our Post-Apocalyptic Silent Movie issue. Why? Well it beats the hell out of "Fall Fashion Dos and Don'ts".

For this one we've got an interview with Dandelion Snow, Niki Lee's first column all the way from West Hollywood, a review of Emily's Army at the Troubadour, Violent Matt's investigation of Coulrophobia, the fear of clowns, and loads of exciting pictures of Sammie. Here's one:



I'm having a lot of fun with this one, changing all the fonts and colours for the occasion (way more exciting to me than you can imagine), and going out of my way to find content just that little bit weirder.

Why not?

Now I say this a lot, but I am always looking for new writers, models, bands, artists, etc, etc, so if you or anyone you know would like to get involved in any capacity from any part of the world, let me know. It's been clinically proven that I am actually the nicest Editor in the history of Creation, so get in touch, and I might even bake for you: primaryantagonist@gmail.com

London Zine Symposium 2010

We're back from the London Zine Symposium and we're spending the day recovering at the Headquarters with Violent Matt. We took the 6:00 yesterday morning after a full night of stapling and 2 hours of sleep and just about made it to the Rag Factory in time to set up at 11. Look at all the stuff!



Lots of lovely people turned up in support -- Punk John, Violent Matt, Jayne H, Kitty Moran, and a slightly confused young man who half-remembers friending us on MySpace. Hi, random dude!



We sold loads of magazines -- we're out of Issue 5 now, but we still have a few copies of 1 - 4 and plenty of t-shirts and badges. I was even interviewed for a documentary about the symposium, and Violent Matt filmed loads of the day -- will post the video when he's finished editing it.



All in all it was a good adventure, but we were happy to get home, 24 hours after waking up. I slept so hard I could have been on another planet. Anyway, we're home now, reading the zines we swapped for and watching bizarre TV. Thank God tomorrow's a Bank Holiday!

Issue 5 is OUT NOW!

Attention Minions!

Issue 5 of The Antagonist is out now! Once again, it is absolutely FREE to download, so tell your friends, warn your enemies, and get your copy here. The password is "emilyv".

This month we have 44 advert-free pages of rubbish including:

*interviews with No Use For a Name's Tony Sly and the very talented piano guy Brian Wahlstrom
*reviews of Hole, Gogol Bordello, Tony Sly, and Jace Everett
*a four-page feature challenging popular negative perceptions of tattoos
*Punk John's Spring Break blog featuring David Cameron, Courtney Love, and a big ass billboard with a stag on it,
*lots of gorgeous pictures of the very lovely and suspiciously clever Emily V
*literature by Rhys Owain Williams, Gillian Brightmore, and the first part of a new short story cheerily titled Snickerdoodles: Or How I Stopped Baking and Started Hurting People
*documentary PROOF that Elvis really is everywhere,
*and a letter to Jordan Catalano

...in addition to all the regular features and columns you know and love or feel indifference to.

That's a lot of free stuff!

So download it, take it, love, it, pass it around, and write me a damn article!!!

Record Store Day and Visual Diabetes

Let's just stop pretending there's anything good about tumblr. As far as these things go, it sucks. It's not easy to use in the slightest, it's just like mega twitter, and I haven't quite worked out the appeal of twitter, either. So screw you, tumblr, i'm posting all of my ramblings on blogspot.



Have had an amazing weekend. Went to Spillers for Record Store Day and had a nice chat with Nick here. For those of you not familiar with it, Spillers is the oldest record shop in the world and is currently under threat by the rising rent prices resulting from the new St Davids 2 shopping mall that's opened up across the way. We here at the Headquarters are big fans of Spillers, and they even stock your favourite magazine. What's not to like? Support independence! Visit Spillers in Cardiff or online here.



Oh, and we met this lovely little rat. Isn't he cute?

We ditched Bullet For My Valentine's record signing for a £10 of jelly beans before heading to the Castle Arcade for Part I of Kylie's epic 2-Day photoshoot of awesomeness. I could say that we actually shrunk Kylie and stuck her in a dollhouse (because we have been watching Harvey Birdman ALL weekend), but that would take away from the awesomeness that this place actually exists. And you can buy cheese in it.



Today we walked down to the Bay and took a boat out to Penarth where we wandered around aimlessly for an hour, passing a surprising number of derlict apartment buildings on our quest for soda pop. Eventually we ended up back at the Bay and grabbed some ice cream before getting on the carousel. I wanted to ride backwards with my camera, but settled for side sadle and we ended up with my favourite picture from the weekend. We call this one "Visual Diabetes."



Mmm mmm good.

In other news, The Antagonist will be appearing at the London Zine Symposium at the Rag Factory on Saturday, 29th May, so come out and see us! We'll have plenty of back issues on sale and we might even bring a few more t-shirts. Good stuff!

Issue 5 is coming!

Right! So Issue 5 is slightly behind schedule, but that's only because we're having a hard time packing so much awesome into forty advert-free pages. There's a lot to catch up on, so I'm just going to go for it.



We've got a review of Joey Cape, Tony Sly, and Jon Snodgrass' gig at the Croft in Bristol (which I'll spoil for you right now by telling you it was totally bitchin')...



an interview with No Use For a Name's Tony Sly who has just released the terribly exciting solo album 12 Song Program on Fat Wreck...



an interview with the amazingly talented "piano guy" Brian Wahlstrom who's Claremont has the Headquarters feeling all jittery...



the very first column by Antagonist favourite Niki Lee, all the way from Cali-frickin'-fornia...



a literature section that will knock your socks off with abundant sex, violence, and writer's block from Gillian Brightmore, Rhys Owain Williams, and Yours Truly, AND tons of pictures of Emily V., who I'm sure you'll agree, is really, really incredibly hot.

How does all that sound? I am overwhelmed by all of the excitement!

In other news, the t-shirts have sold out except for one lonely size L in a bag in my closet (any takers?) and all of the special edition copies of Issues 2 and 3 are gone. Issues 4 and 5 to follow! We have a printer now and he's so good, we're completely overwhelming him with our enthusiasm. The Headquarters has a new staff member, Vince, the Long Arm Stapler, and he's been very busy. Joy abounds!

Speaking of joy, I am thrilled silly to report that Jace Everett is playing The Chattery in Swansea (random much?) next month and we're all going. Like, all of us. If you want to go, contact The Chattery directly and book yourself some tickets!

Don't forget, The Antagonist is participating in the 24-Hour Poetry marathon on April 23rd at the Elysium Gallery in Swansea. Sponsor us, come down and support our writers, and read something, bitches! It's going to be a great night!

Donate to Kitty and Save a Cat!

You knew she was hot, but soon she'll be literally aflame! Big-hearted Babe #1 Kitty Moran is participating in a firewalk for Cats Protection and you can sponsor her through justgiving.com. Donate to Kitty and save a cat!



In other news, the new T-Shirts are here and they're fabulous! There are still a few left, so if you want one, you can order one through the website. They're £10, which is more than we were hoping, but still pretty good given the fact that each one has an awesome SQUID in a TOP HAT on it! Big thanks for Neil Austin for the amazing artwork!

T-Shirts, Ahoy!

Okay! Quick entry just to let y'all know that the HM Revenue & Customs fairy has visited the Headquarters and lo, we're getting t-shirts. They should be ready in about a week and if you want one, they're going to be £7ish. Will be able to give you a more exact price when we hear back from the nice screen printer people. They're going to be black (and possibly other colours) and they're going to have our new logo on them. They're going to be awesome.

If you want one, let us know. Email your size and details of what you're currently wearing to primaryantagonist@gmail.com.