Music Writing

After graduating from the creative writing department at Columbia College in 1993, I figured that I was officially a writer. I also loved music. I thought, therefore, that I should write about music. So I did for the publications listed below.

During this time, I also launched my own music publication, Reglar Wiglar, and contributed to a few other zines here and there.

Loud Lucy, INsider, 1993

Hog Lady, Columbia Chronicle, 1993

Mama Tick, Pure Magazine, 1993

Baby M, Pure Magazine, 1994

Vambo Marble Eye, Pure Magazine, 1994/95

God and Texas, Illinois Entertainer, 1994

Ass Ponys, Illinois Entertainer, 1994

Fix Your Wagon, Illinois Entertainer, 1994

Monster Magnet, Illinois Entertainer, 1995

Billy Childish, Chicago Tribune, 1998

Tribe 8, Chicago Tribune, 1998

Columns

During my last semester at Columbia, the Chronicle sponsored a column-writing contest. A right-leaning dude and I both won. I guess we were supposed to provide a counterbalance to each other. Our columns ran every other week. He got a lot of angry letters. I didn’t get letters of any kind. That either means that the student body leaned left (likely) or nobody read my column (possible).

At any rate, I named my column after the underground college newspaper I started with my roommate Chris Till at DePaul University in 1989 which was called Dissin’ on the Groove. And that title is a paraphrase of something Zen master Tim Davison said to me at the school’s cafeteria one day, “Don’t diss on my chili groove”. He was literally referring to a bowl of chili. So, even though it’s hella stupid in a lot of ways, I got some mileage out of that phrase. Don’t even get me started on Peace, Love, & MotherScratcher.

Anyway, you can read all of those Columbia Chronicle columns here.