''Slash'' was a punk rock-related fanzine published by Steve Samiof and Melanie Nissen in the United States from 1977 to 1980. The magazine was a large-format tabloid focused on the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

punk scene. The fanzine also gave birth to Slash Records, an important punk record label.

Description

''Slash'' regularly covered such L.A. bands as the Screamers, the Skulls,

Nervous Gender Nervous Gender is an American punk rock Electronic music, electronic band formed in Los Angeles in 1978 by Gerardo Velazquez, Edward Stapleton, Phranc and Michael Ochoa. Their use of heavily distorted keyboards and synthesizers made them, al ...

, The Bags, and X. It did not restrict itself to local acts; its first cover featured

Dave Vanian David Vanian (born David Lett, 12 October 1956) is an English rock musician, and lead singer of the punk rock band the Damned. Formed in 1976 in London, the Damned were the first British punk band to release a single, release an album, have ...

of the Damned. It also featured articles and reviews on reggae, blues, and rockabilly, in doing so, introduced punk audiences to a wide range of then-unfamiliar musical genres. Writers Claude "Kickboy Face" Bessy, Craig Lee, Richard Meltzer,

Jeffrey Lee Pierce Jeffrey Lee Pierce (June 27, 1958 – March 31, 1996) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and author. He was one of the founding members of the band The Gun Club, and released material as a solo artist. Early life Pierce was born ...

, Chris D., Allan MacDonell and Pleasant Gehman, and cartoonist

Gary Panter Gary Panter (born December 1, 1950) is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, designer and part-time musician. Panter's work is representative of the post- underground, new wave comics movement that began with the end of '' Arcade: The Com ...

were among the major contributors. Photo contributors included David Arnoff, Susan Carson, Kerry Colonna, Ed Colver, Diane Gamboa, Frank Gargani, Jenny Lens, Melanie Nissen, Donna Santisi, Ann Summa, Scott Lindgren, and coeditor Philomena Winstanley.

Closing

''Slash'' magazine folded in 1980, as many of the main principals involved were increasingly concentrating on other activities. Bob Biggs was more involved in running the label; many of the writers were concentrating on their own musical activities. In addition, there was a widespread perception that punk rock was dying, as movements such as

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

, hardcore, and

deathrock Deathrock (or death rock) is a rock music subgenre that merges punk rock and post-punk with Gothic fiction, gothic and glam rock visuals and elements of horror film scores. Often overlapping with, and sometimes considered a subgenre of, gothic ...

were emerging while many of the original Los Angeles punk bands (such as the Germs and the Weirdos) were breaking up, and in such a changing environment ''Slash'' had essentially served its purpose.

Issues

References

External links

* Complete Slash print run{{cite web , title=Complete Slash print run , url=http://circulationzero.com , website=Circulation Zero , publisher=Ryan Richardson , access-date=16 May 2024 Music magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1977 Magazines disestablished in 1980 Punk zines Magazines published in Los Angeles