TERMINAL BOREDOM

Happy New Year folks, hope all is well out there. 2012 is upon us, and once again my resolution is to make Termbo bigger and better than it was before. We’ll see how that goes. I can promise you’ll hear from us a lot more than you did in 2011, which I guess isn’t saying much when you think about it. Our first post of the new year is a long-in-the-making interview with Andy from Fashionable Idiots records, a quality dude if there ever was one. We spent a long time on this, for better or worse, and I’m glad it actually got finished because there are few people out there who have done more for our “scene” than Andy. Enjoy, please. Coming soon: demos/tapes/zine reviews, record reviews winter 2012, Tops of 2011 lists from the staff, more blogging and other top secret surprises. See you soon.

Back again, with our last update before the holiday weekend begins. Our present to you this year is the latest installment of TV AS EYES from senior staffer Rob Vertigo. This time Rob digs deep into the pits of Eighties Shot-on-Video atrocities and unearths some real gems. The KBD of VHS collectorscum perhaps. And trust me, from what I’ve managed to see of these online and in-person, they’re worth seeking out. I hope you enjoy, and thanks to Rob for sticking with us during a rough year. We’ll be back after the long weekend with another update, more reviews, Favorites of 2011 and other stuff in the near future. Thanks to everyone for all the support and Happy Holidays to you all.

Before there was TB there was BG. As Joe Domino succinctly summed it up:

“Blank Generation was an e-zine dedicated to the Renaissance of Rock ‘N’ Roll. Since its launch in March, 1999, Blank Generation has become a collective for opinionative fanatics of good taste in music. On December, 2003 Blank Generation closed due to lack of time and interest.”

I found BlankGen when I first got the internet (a webTV console) and one of the first things I searched for on the web was info about Teengenerate, who were then my favorite band. I reached out to Joe via this new and exciting thing called e-mail, and I ended up doing some writing for the site and got to become acquainted with fellow music fans like Todd Trickknee, Eric Lastname, Steve Strange, Jeff G., Shaun Anagram, Troy C., Man Mountain Mitch Cardwell, Icki and more, the guys who became the core of Termbo once Joe decided to close down BG. Needless to say, there would be no Terminal Bordeom without Blank Generation. So thanks Joe Domino, wherever you are. Before the OnOn Switch site died (which was housing the BG archives) I acquired the files for the site, which Justin Collectorscum (another guy who Termbo owes a big debt to) outfitted for the Termbo archives for all to enjoy. So take a look at the early days, a lot of this stuff is pretty funny and sometimes even really good. Early Firestarter and A-Frames interviews, high-larious columns, old reviews…I was always fond of the interview I did with Mark Sultan before he became a doo wop superstar. And Obsessive/Compulsive Rock’n'Roll will forever be one of my favorite columns (both Icki and Cardwell years). Check it all out here. We’ll be back soon with some interviews, columns and/or more reviews.

So, I was reading one of the V/Search “ZINES!” issues the other day and someone said something along the lines of the erratic publication schedules of zines is what makes them so endearing and personable. Or some crap. Totally wrong, that’s the most incredibly annoying part of zines. Dependability, that’s what we want, and something Termbo has failed to give back to the readers, labels, bands and contributors this year. An unavoidable set of circumstances made extracurricular activities of the time-consuming variety a near impossibility for much of the year. And I was honestly planning on taking a break over the summer as well, but it all just turned into a giant clusterfuck. Anyway, this isn’t a fucking Livejournal here, enough about my bullshit. I hope to close out the Termbo year with more rapid updates to get us up to speed, including but not limited to: Demo Zone//Tape Delay (on deck), another reviews section, Rob Vertigo’s SOV ‘TV As Eyes’ fearture, an interview with Fashionable Idiots Records, The Life and Times of Gary Wrong, and as much more as we can fit in. It was tough getting these reviews up; I was out of practice and after being off the bike for so long it was tough to get the wheels turning again. A lot of these reviews are painfully and embarrassingly late, some are rather recent, but I just had to cut the cord and post what we had finished. There’s another bunch just waiting to go, but I figured I just needed to post something to shake the rust off and get back in the routine. I offer sincere apologies to the staff who wrote some of this stuff nearly a year ago, to all the labels and bands who waited patiently and to whatever readership we have left for being absent for so long. And label/band guys, if your record wasn’t in this section, there’s more to come soon, but if you want to e-mail the editor and ask what his problem is or when/where your record will be up to bat, please do. Also, please keep in mind anything sent to Termbo is also fodder for our pal Chuck Barrels’ column in MRR, so keep an eye out there as well. Oh yeah, reviews are in two sections: A through M and N through Z. That’s it for now, we’ll see you soon, and we’re still looking for help if you’re absolutely 100% serious about it (no more flakes please). We’d also like to wish Kamala a speedy recovery from his surgery. Until we meet again…

So, as you can tell, I broke the message board. It will be back in a minute, all is not lost. “The Editor” just shouldn’t be allowed to have a website that he has no idea how to fix. Our best IT guy is on the job right now. If that doesn’t work, I will be employing the Ultimate Nullifier and/or Cosmic Cube to take us back in time before this all even happened. For real. In other news, there should be an actual reviews update as soon as we get this other stuff fixed as well. Seriously. Our hiatus is over. We’ll talk more soon. Termbo = not dead. Yet.

Hey there. Issue 28 is just about finished up, but since we haven’t chatted in a month here’s another teaser to keep you occupied for a bit. Our pal Hyde did a great in-depth interview/discography with long time friend-of-Termbo Stefan C., who you might know from Estrogen Highs, Sudden Walks, Medication or from his role as a major part of the New Haven, CT scene. A good kid, we need more like him. Check it out here. Also, I know many of you have already heard of Dan and Letha melchior’s situation, but if not please go here and do what you can to help them in their time of need. Time to return a little kindness for all of the great music they’ve given us over the years. That’s all for now, we’ll be back in a few days with Issue 28 and a mess of new content with our Best of 2010 update on the horizon. Really.

Every time I try to finish a reviews section, it just never wants to end…there’s always one more record we can sneak in there or a few lines to tinker with or a rewrite from someone. Then there’s the actual process of sizing all the pictures and trying to make it look at least halfway decent on the page….it’s not as fun as it used to be. But it is still enjoyable, I have to admit. I think we’ve been reviewing records non-stop here for almost six years now. I do look forward to the week long break we take after a new edition is posted. But it’s also still a thrill to dive back in afterwards. Personally, I still enjoy modern music and feel privileged to be able to write about it. There’s a lot out there to enjoy. And a lot to hate. Just don’t give up looking. There’s something out there for all of us….so, Termbo News: Issue #28 is scheduled to be ready in time for Christmas, if all goes well. It should include, but is not limited to: a reviews addendum, Tape Delay/Demo Zone, interviews with The Moonhearts, Sex Church, Tyvek, Night Birds, a whopping TV As Eyes update, hopefully some more columns (hint hint), a little something called The Terminal Advisor and a few other odds and ends. We’ll do our damndest to make it ready for the long holiday. We’re always looking for help with interviews, features, Garbage Can, etc…so drop us a line if you’re seriously interested. That’s all for now, time to fire up the snowblower and dig TB HQ out of the snow.

On tap: our second interview with Larry Hardy, CEO of In the Red Records, the finest label in all of garage-punk-dom for many many years running. Multiple-time winner of the coveted Termbo Label of the Year Trophy and home of TB Staff faves such as The Hunches, Tyvek, Cheap Time, Lamps and tonnes more. Larry was kind enough to answer a bunch of questions for us towards the end of summer and was a very good sport throughout it all. Hopefully we can do Part 3 sooner than later. And everyone should check out Tyvek’s “Nothing Fits”, Larry’s latest release. As far as Termbo Updates, we should have new reviews in short time, and look for TB Issue #26 (or #27?) sometime in late November, just in time for your holiday needs. Thanks everyone.